Meshed high data rate personal area networks

Wireless mesh networks have proven to be of great potential in providing new and innovative applications in many areas in the last few years. WMNs can address some limitations and optimize the performance of existing standardized networks in terms of cost, reliability, simplified network configuration, extended coverage and so on. This article is a tutorial on the technical aspects of meshed personal area networks. The proposed solutions for meshing high data rate PANs (802.15.3) are discussed along with related issues where applicable. The article starts by giving an overview of the high data rate PAN standard (802.15.3) and its inherent limitations to operate in a mesh configuration. It discusses the main drivers behind meshing PANs and describes the architecture, operation in a mesh configuration, and the hidden node/exposed node issue, which is pronounced in mesh networks. The added functionality of routing in meshed PANs, optimizations due to multi-interface/multichannel communication, improved dynamic channel selection, transmitted power control procedures, and security aspects are also given in this article. The article concludes by summarizing the proposed approaches for meshing PANs.