Time-optimized MAC for low latency and energy-efficient SmartBANs

We present a novel time-optimized framework to support joint scheduled and contention access hybrid medium access control (MAC) for Smart Body Area Networks (SmartBANs). For the first time, optimal lengths of inter-beacon interval and access periods are critically analyzed. This is achieved by first building closed-form analytical models for both periodic and Poisson emergency traffic. Then, the inter-beacon interval and individual access periods are optimized based on minimizing both delay and energy consumption. The delay and energy characteristics of our time-optimized MAC for SmartBAN are demonstrated by numerical analysis.