U-MAC: A Proactive and Adaptive UWB Medium
Access Control Protocol
Raja Jurdak, Pierre Baldi and Cristina Videira Lopes
Abstract
Ultra Wide Band technology (UWB) has received increasing recognition in recent years for its potential applications beyond radar technology to communication networks. UWB is a spread spectrum technology that requires careful coordination among communicating nodes to jointly control link power and transmission rates. Here, we present U-MAC, an adaptive Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for UWB in which nodes periodically declare their current state, so that neighbors can proactively assign power and rate values for new links locally in order to optimize global network performance. Simulations comparing U-MAC to the reactive approach confirm that U-MAC lowers link setup latency and control overhead, doubles the throughput and adapts better to high network loads. imulations also reveal that the basic form of U-MAC favors nodes that are closer to the receiver. As a result, we also introduce novel mechanisms that control the radius around a receiver within which nodes can have fair access to it. We show through simulations the effect of the mechanisms on the tradeoff between network throughput and fair access.
Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Journal, Special Issue on UWB Communications, 2005
.5(5):551-566.