Superframe formation algorithms in 802.15.3 networks

The IEEE 802.15.3 wireless standard aims to achieve high performance and scalability by using a hybrid, time-slotted MAC protocol with variable length superframes. The design of a proper superframe formation algorithm is not trivial. This can be attributed to some limitations in the possibilities of superframe resizing. Based on our findings, we propose a novel superframe formation algorithm, which avoids the pitfalls of current algorithms. A comprehensive performance analysis with various performance metrics and different types of traffic is presented in the paper. The proposed algorithm is a low complexity solution that supports power-saving and proper treatment of CBR traffic, while it provides higher channel utilization, higher error tolerance and stability.