Figure:  Typical Multi-hop Multi-Cluster Wireless  Sensor Network

At present  there are several MAC protocols available in the literature for WSN. However in  order to use these protocols in more real time highly reliable and critical  network there are major hurdles which has to be removed. Some of the key issues  in the existing MAC which are dealt in this research are listed below.

1.Collision: First and far most the major issue to be resolve is collision. Due  to collision the QOS of the entire system degrades.

2.Latency: Latency is also one of the key factor in delay sensitive  application. There are protocols available in the literature which tackle the  problem of collision but at the same time pay the price of latency which again  is the reason why these MAC protocols are not being used in such applications.

3.Energy: This factor is directly related to the capability of the nodes.  Since the nodes are tiny they need to conserve a lot of energy. Hence any MAC  protocol which resolves the issues like latency and collision but at the  expense of energy is also not successful.

4.Scalability: WSN MAC protocol should maintain high QOS under both low and high  network traffic and varying number of nodes.

5.Fairness: MAC protocol should be fair among the nodes i.e all the nodes should  be given equal opportunity to transmit and receive.

Research  Outcome

The main outcome of the research is to  design MAC protocols that are low in complexity and computation. The protocols  can be suitable for static as well as mobile applications, maintaining high QoS  in highly scalable network.

Impact  of Research

The research has direct impact in major  Industries like Avionics, Health Care and Vehicular. The research not only  advances the Industrial system and pave the path to either replace or integrate  wireless technology with legacy system but also opens new dimensions to  research community.