A spatial reuse media access protocol for cooperative spectrum sensing

Cognitive Radio (CR) is a paradigm for a more flexible and efficient usage of radio spectrum, where spectrum sensing is a vital function. When spectrum sensing is performed by several sensors in cooperation to overcome multipath fading and shadowing, a proper media access control (MAC) protocol is needed to coordinate the information exchange between sensors, and conserve resources. This work considers a dedicated wireless sensor network (WSN) for cooperative spectrum sensing, focusing on a spatial reuse MAC protocol. The MAC protocol is designed for a bandwidth limited system, and it is associated with the application of cooperative spectrum sensing. The design and implementation of such a protocol are discussed in detail, and performance numerical results for a specific scenario are presented.