Half-duplex Two-way Relaying for Wireless Sensor Networks with Adaptive Coding Rate: A Performance Optimization Framework

In this paper, a novel framework to enhance the reliability of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) by addressing the high probability of outage (OP) resulting from limited energy resources and unreliable channels. The framework integrates three techniques: half-duplex two-way relaying (HD-TWR), digital network coding (DNC), and rateless codes. Although these techniques have been extensively studied in isolation, a comprehensive analysis of their joint performance is provided as the main contribution. The proposed scheme leverages the energy efficiency of HD-TWR, the transmission reduction capability of DNC, and the retransmission-free resilience of rateless codes. Simulation results show that the integrated framework significantly reduces OP, offering a robust and practical solution to enhance the reliability enhancement. Furthermore, the impact of optimal relay node placement is investigated through parameter adjustments in the simulation stage to maximize performance gains.