Energy-Efficient Modulation Schemes for Low-Latency Wireless Sensor Networks in Industrial Environments

Abstract

Monitoring, find faults quickly, and automate control systems in modern factories and processes heavily rely on WSNs. Often, these networks depend on battery-powered sensor nodes and have strict requirements for power usage, communications delay, and a reliable channel, thanks to disturbances like multipath fading and interference in dynamic industrial environments. To solve these problems, the paper introduces a detailed comparison and optimization method for energy-saving modulation techniques designed for industrial WSNs. Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK), Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK), Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying (GMSK), and On-Off Keying (OOK) are tested under IEEE 802.15.4 and LoRa physical layers using BER, energy per bit, throughput, and end-to-end latency as benchmarks. We go on to propose a hybrid adaptive protocol that lets the network adjust its modulation strategies according to current CSI and the remaining battery power, so it is energy-efficient as well as quick. Using MATLAB/Simulink simulations, the adaptive protocol shows an improvement of up to 35% in energy savings and a decrease in latency by 28% when compared to fixed-modulation schemes. The designed framework supplies helpful advice for designing modulation-aware MAC layers and helps build resilient, scalable network infrastructure for important industrial tasks.