I. Introduction
Large-scale machine-to-machine communication plays a key role in enabling the deployment of smart infrastructures in industrial or safety-critical settings. The aggregation and processing of high volumes of data in increasingly complex and dense wireless sensor networks (WSNs) introduces diverse challenges as network devices frequently contend with unpredictable environmental conditions, congestion, and internal interference. Real-time networks may experience surges in traffic during equipment failure, emergency situations or abnormal events prohibiting delivery of all data within stringent deadlines.