  In this paper, we first propose a redundant radix based number (RBN)
representation for encoding the data to be transmitted in a wireless network.
This RBN encoding uses three possible values - 0, 1 and $\bar 1$, for each
digit to be transmitted. We then propose to use silent periods (zero energy
transmission) for transmitting the 0's in the RBN encoded data thus obtained.
This is in contrast to most conventional communication strategies that utilize
energy based transmission (EbT) schemes, where energy expenditure occurs for
transmitting both 0 and 1 bit values. The binary to RBN conversion algorithm
presented here offers a significant reduction in the number of non-zero bits in
the resulting RBN encoded data. As a result, it provides a highly
energy-efficient technique for data transmission with silent periods for
transmitting 0's. We simulated our proposed technique with ideal radio device
characteristics and also with parameters of various commercially available
radio devices. Experimental results on various benchmark suites show that with
ideal as well as some commercial device characteristics, our proposed
transmission scheme requires 69% less energy on an average, compared to the
energy based transmission schemes. This makes it very attractive for
application scenarios where the devices are highly energy constrained. Finally,
based on this transmission strategy, we have designed a MAC protocol that would
support the communication of such RBN encoded data frames.
