Low cost smart antennas for mesh networks

Team members

Albert Lysko

Notes: Collaboration with Hungarian researchers (USZ) is on the way.

Abstract

Smart antenna is an antenna that is capable of adapting its properties to satisfy particular goal(s). The goals may for example include radiation pattern shaping (beamforming/beamswitching). The beamforming provides spatial (directional) selectivity and permits to enhance gain in a desired direction and also to lower the influence of a source of interference.

The capacity of a mesh network can be improved substantially if smart antennas are employed. The smartness of such antennas comes from the intelligent algorithms controlling antenna. The intelligence may include using the ability to steer the beam in order to enhance the node discovery and node self-healing. Beamforming and beam-switching antennas which are integrated with routing protocols is a new areas of research.

Directions =

1. Basic control and monitoring tools. 2. Integration with MAC layer 3. Ability to do direction-of-arrieval (DOA) finding 4. Further integration with MAC layer

The topics 2 and 4 are the most complex.