A Distributed Spectrum Sharing Method for Improving Coexistence of IEEE 802.15.4 Networks

Defined for low-rate, low-power and short-range applications, IEEE 802.15.4 offers complementary services to IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15.1. However, since IEEE 802.15.4-based wireless personal area networks (WPANs) are very prone to interference, efficient coexistence of IEEE 802.15.4 WPANs in the ISM band is a challenging problem. In this work, we propose a distributed coexistence method for IEEE 802.15.4 operating in the beacon- enabled mode. In this method, each network coordinator learns about the surrounding environment, and schedules its superframe properly to minimize the mutual interference. Using this method, multiple IEEE 802.15.4-based WPANs can colocate in the same logical channel, hence, increasing their coexistence capability in the ISM band. The proposed method considers spatial distribution of the WPANs and a physical interference model. Also, the method does not require any global information about the coexisting WPANs. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method through simulations.