Busting myths of energy models for wireless sensor networks

When developing and validating algorithms and protocols for wireless sensor networks, simulations provide valuable insights that would be impractical to gather from real world experimental deployments. For these simulations to be meaningful, realistic models of the way energy is consumed in the targeted sensor devices need to be produced. A number of inaccuracies are identified to avoid when constructing simulation energy models and in doing so draw attention to a device specific behaviour with the potential to invalidate research assumptions.