A survey on analytical models for dynamic resource management in wireless body area networks

Compared with typical wireless sensor networks, wireless body area networks (WBANs) have distinct features: on-body communication, a large amount of interference, and dynamic topology changes caused by gestures. Accordingly, the resource management algorithm in the medium access control (MAC) protocol should be dynamic, adaptive, and energy-efficient. Hence, recent studies tend to optimize the available resources by applying several types of analytical models. Although these models have been categorized in terms of their objectives, the major differences between their methodologies have not been emphasized and discussed. In this study, we classify the analytical models applicable to dynamic resource management, and clarify their characteristics and use cases. We present the basic principles, approach classification, comparison, and guidance for dynamic resource management, and investigate state-of-the-art resource management techniques according to the corresponding analytical models. Furthermore, research challenges on dynamic resource management in WBAN are identified to facilitate future research in this area.