Digital channel modeling for multi-relay wireless sensor networks

This paper presents a new approach for the channel capacity calculation of a multirelay communication system. For the channel model based on Markov chains theory, the exact formula for the channel capacity, which is expressed as a function of packet error rate and number of relays, is derived. The presented theory of multi-relay modelling can be directly extended for the modelling and capacity calculation of multi-relay multi-hop networks. The presented theory of multi-relay channels is applied to calculate the capacity of channels for cooperative communication systems.