Implementation of RPL Protocol Modifications to Improve IoT Communication Performance
Mi Ae Shin, Jung Kyu Park · WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on SYSTEMS archive · 2025
In IoT-based wireless sensor networks, various types of data are transmitted as various devices are utilized. In addition, the data communicated increases according to the number of deployed nodes. However, since the battery of IoT nodes is limited, a routing method that can communicate while minimizing energy consumption is essential. In order to build a mesh network in such a low-power IoT sensor network environment, the Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) was developed. Using the RPL protocol, it is possible to prevent dead zones where wireless network communication is not possible and control a large area at once. RPL relies on an objective function to determine optimal routing paths, with each function employing different metrics to enhance network efficiency. This study aims to improve RPL’s performance in dense IoT-WSN by introducing two modified objective functions. In the paper, two versions of the protocol are proposed. The first MRPL1 is designed considering the number of neighboring nodes and the energy of IoT devices in the network. The second MRPL2 is designed considering neighboring nodes and child nodes. The protocol uses Expected Transmission Count (ETX) as a performance evaluation criterion. Simulation results demonstrate that MRPL1 achieves a 92% improvement in energy efficiency compared to standard RPL protocol. Similarly, MRPL2 improves energy savings by 15% over RPL.