Medium access control in ultra-wideband wireless networks

• Published in: IEEE transactions on vehicular technology Vol. 54; no. 5; pp. 1663 - 1677
• Main Authors: Shen, X.S., Zhuang, W., Jiang, H., Cai, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01-09-2005; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Access control; Access methods and protocols, osi model; Applied sciences; Bandwidth; Channels; Devices; Exact sciences and technology; FCC; Intelligent networks; Media Access Protocol; Medium access control (MAC); Multiple access; Networks; Peer to peer computing; Provisioning; Quality of service; quality of service (QoS); Resource allocation; Resource management; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Teleprocessing networks. Isdn; Ultra wideband technology; ultra-wideband (UWB) transmission; Wireless communication; Wireless networks; wireless personal area network (WPAN); Access control; Multiple access; Medium access control (MAC); quality of service (QoS); Wireless telecommunication; Resource allocation; ultra-wideband (UWB) transmission; Personal communication networks; Service quality; wireless personal area network (WPAN); Ultra wide band
• ISSN: 0018-9545; 1939-9359
• DOI: 10.1109/TVT.2005.853888

Ultra-wideband (UWB) transmission is an emerging wireless communication technology with unique potential merits such as high-rate, low-transmission power, immunity to multipath propagation, and capability in precise positioning. It has received significant interests for future wireless communications from both academia and industry. In UWB wireless networks, medium access control (MAC) is essential to coordinate the channel access among competing devices. The unique UWB characteristics not only pose significant challenges but also offer great opportunities in efficient UWB MAC design. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of UWB MAC development on four important aspects: multiple access, overhead reduction, resource allocation, and quality of service (QoS) provisioning, and identifies some future research issues.