Neighbor discovery algorithms in directional antenna based synchronous and asynchronous wireless ad hoc networks

The performance of wireless systems could be significantly improved by directional antennas with highly efficient MAC layers and other control protocols and algorithms. One such critical algorithm is neighbor discovery, which establishes links between adjacent neighboring nodes in the network. In this article, we first study the slotted synchronous system and propose a novel neighbor discovery algorithm to address the high collision problem caused by high node density. We then evaluate the performance of neighbor discovery algorithms and extend the results to asynchronous systems. Simulation results show that for the synchronous system, our algorithm consistently shortens the required time for the whole discovery process from that in previous works; for an asynchronous system, our algorithm sheds insight on how to select design parameters.