Multi-hop relaying with optimal decode-and-forward transmission rate and self-immunity to mutual interference among wireless nodes

In this paper we show that multi-hop relaying with immunity to mutual interference among relays can be realized in multi-hop ad hoc wireless networks with full-duplex decode-and-forward relays that exploit appropriate packet encoding and successive interference cancellation. This resolves fundamentally the mutual interference challenge involved in multi-hop wireless network research. Based on this interference immune phenomenon, a relay selection algorithm is developed to find the optimal hop count and the optimal relays that maximize source-destination decode-and-forward transmission rate. The algorithm constructs the optimal multi-hop paths from a source node to all other network nodes simultaneously with a quadratic complexity O(N²), where N is the network size. This algorithm is efficient for wireless networks with arbitrary size, including extremely large sizes, and can potentially play a fundamental role in exploring multi-hop wireless networks. Surprisingly, this wireless networking algorithm is similar to the well-known Djikstra´s algorithm of wired networks. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the efficiency and the superior performance of the new algorithm.