Directional antennas in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have several advantages including the enhanced capacity of the network, longer range of transmission, better spatial reuse and lower interference. By enhancing the alleviating contention and the range of communication, the directional antennas improve the performance of WSNs. In common, various methods like localisation, power management, data aggregation and optimisation obtain these advantages in WSNs; however, the reliability requirements and the energy concerns make the antenna technology more advantageous. When compared with methods, in which the directional antennas provide advantages like the extended range of transmission, energy savings, better prevention of wormhole attack, long coverage and high interference tolerance. This review provides a detailed study of recent improvements and open research problems on directional antennas in WSN applications. First, the introduction and the background of directional antennas briefly based on their classification radiation patterns and advantages in directional communication in WSNs. During the past years, a number of directional antennas are designed for the applications of WSNs. In this study, recently developed directional antennas and their applications in WSNs are reviewed. The applications of directional antenna in WSNs are classified into security benefits, localisation, convergecast, contention reduction and energy efficiency.

中文翻译：

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回顾无线传感器网络应用中的定向天线

无线传感器网络（WSN）中的定向天线具有几个优点，包括网络容量的增加，传输范围的延长，空间复用的更好以及干扰的减少。通过增强缓解争用和通信范围，定向天线提高了WSN的性能。通常，诸如定位，电源管理，数据聚合和优化之类的各种方法都可以在WSN中获得这些优势。但是，可靠性要求和能源问题使天线技术更具优势。与定向天线相比，定向天线具有以下优点：扩展的传输范围，节省能源，更好地防止虫洞攻击，覆盖范围长，抗干扰能力强。本文对WSN应用中定向天线的最新改进和开放研究问题进行了详细研究。首先，根据定向天线的分类辐射图和在无线传感器网络中定向通信的优势，简要介绍定向天线的背景和背景。在过去的几年中，为WSN的应用设计了许多定向天线。在这项研究中，回顾了最近开发的定向天线及其在无线传感器网络中的应用。定向天线在无线传感器网络中的应用分为安全性优势，本地化，融合广播，减少竞争和能源效率。基于定向天线的分类辐射图和在无线传感器网络中定向通信的优势，简要介绍了定向天线的介绍和背景。在过去的几年中，为WSN的应用设计了许多定向天线。在这项研究中，回顾了最近开发的定向天线及其在无线传感器网络中的应用。定向天线在无线传感器网络中的应用分为安全性优势，本地化，融合广播，减少竞争和能效。基于定向天线的分类辐射图和在无线传感器网络中定向通信的优势，简要介绍了定向天线的介绍和背景。在过去的几年中，为WSN的应用设计了许多定向天线。在这项研究中，回顾了最近开发的定向天线及其在无线传感器网络中的应用。定向天线在无线传感器网络中的应用分为安全性优势，本地化，融合广播，减少竞争和能源效率。