Adaptive channel selection in IEEE 802.15.4 TSCH networks

Atis Elsts, Xenofon Fafoutis, Robert J. Piechocki, Ian Craddock

Abstract: Time-Slotted Channel Hopping (TSCH) from the IEEE 802.15.4-2015 standard uses channel hopping to combat interference and frequency-selective fading. Due to the pseudorandom nature of TSCH standard channel hopping process, the energy usage and end-to-end delay achieved in statically configured TSCH networks are suboptimal when compared to using a dynamically updated set of channels. We investigate and compare the advantages of several different adaptive channel selection metrics and methods under the presence of external, frequency-specific interference. In our experiments, PRR-based channel quality assessment with downstream-driven channel selection shows the best results. It is able to reliably distinguish between heavily-interfered and lightly-interfered channels, reduces the number of packet retransmissions up to 2.7 times, achieves up to 22 % lower average radio-on time, and shows close-to 100 % PDR even under heavy interference.