Adaptive hybrid contention and reservation for UWB mesh networks

With license-exempt usage, huge bandwidth and very low power consumption Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology is an attractive candidate for high-rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). However, restricted power emission limits the maximal coverage range to a few meters. Especially for dense indoor UWB systems, wireless multi-hop communication extends the transmission range easily and cost-effectively. WiMedia, world´s first commercial UWB standard, is adapted to indoor environments, where collisions are expected often due to hidden devices. This paper evaluates WiMedia for wireless mesh networks by simulation and proposes a combination of the two channel access protocols, on the one hand to limit frame delay and on the other hand to gain system capacity.