MAC protocol for ad hoc networks using smart antennas with relayed Pulse/Tone exchange <Abstract> The smart antenna utilization has attracted attention due to the bene ts, i.e. spatial reusage and communication range extension. However, problems newly occur and limit the network throughput improvement, such as hidden node problem due to beamform and asymmetry in gain, deafness problem as so on. In our previous work [1], pulse/tone ex- change, instead of the RTS/CTS handshake, is proved as an effective method for mitigating collisions and deafness problem. However, the bene t of communication range ex- tension is not considered. In this paper, pulse/tone exchanges are applied twice prior to the data frame transmission for exploiting the extended communication range of smart antennas while achieving spatial reuse. Only by applying pulse/tone ex- change twice, the hidden node problem due to asymmetry in gain and the underutilization problem can be simultane- ously reduced. As a result, the network throughput can be effectively improved compared with [1]. |