Abstract: MAC protocol is at the core of effective communication in wireless sensor network because it decides the usage of wireless channel. After introducing the characteristics of wireless sensor networks, this paper describes the sensor network properties that are crucial for the design of MAC protocol. The key mechanism and real-time of the existing representative MAC protocol are analyzed, and their performances are compared. The future research strategies and trends of real-time MAC protocols are summarized.

Key words: Wireless Sensor Networks(WSN), MAC protocol, real-time, energy-efficiency

摘要： MAC协议决定着无线信道的使用方式，是保证网络高效通信的关键协议。通过分析无线传感器网络的特点，针对应用需求，讨论影响MAC协议设计的有关问题，研究和比较了当前典型的无线传感器网络MAC协议的主要机制及实时性，展望了无线传感器网络实时MAC 协议的进一步研究策略和发展趋势。

关键词: 无线传感器网络, MAC协议, 实时, 能量有效

CLC Number: 

• TP393