Relay selection considering MAC overhead and collision in wireless networks

In this paper, we propose a relay selection method, Maximum Throughput Relay Selection Algorithm (MTRSA) for wireless networks. Based on the derivation of direct and cooperative communications, MTRSA takes both MAC overhead and collision into consideration for maximizing the system throughput. In addition, the analytical derivation and proposed relay selection algorithm support both amplify-and-forward (AF) and decode-and-forward (DF). Numerical results and simulations are provided to validate the efficiency of our algorithm.