To Sense or Not To Sense: An AoI Perspective in Energy-Harvesting Networks

This paper investigates the age of information (AoI) in energy harvesting (EH) wireless networks employing Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA). We model the stochastic energy harvesting process and the channel state evolution, and derive closed-form expressions for the average AoI. The optimal packet generation rate and corresponding minimum average AoI are determined under the assumption of an infinite energy buffer. Moreover, we compare the optimal average AoI performance of EH-CSMA and EH-Aloha systems. The results show that CSMA significantly reduces the average AoI, particularly in dense networks, while Aloha may outperform CSMA in scenarios with high propagation delays.