A Collision Resolution Protocol for Random Access Channels with Energy Detectors

In this paper, we consider the random accessing of a single slotted channel by a large number of packet-transmitting, bursty users. We assume that feedback broadcasting is available where some different information, in addition to the information assumed by the Capetanakis, Gallager, Massey, etc., models, is included in the feedback. In particular, we assume that the existence of energy detectors permits the broadcasting of the number of collided packets within each collision slot, whenever this number is below a certain limit. We first consider this limit to be infinity, and then a finite small number. For the model considered, we propose and analyze a collision resolution protocol (CRAI), whose implementation is simple. For Poisson input traffic and infinite number of energy detectors, we found that the CRAI is stable for input rates below 0.53237. For finite number of energy detectors, we propose a modified version of the CRAI (MCRAI). We found that the MCRAI reaches the throughput 0.53237, through the utilization of only about eight energy detectors. These protocols, like the ones introduced by Capetanakis, Gallager, Massey, etc., have good delay properties.