Efficient mm-Wave beamforming protocol for group environments

In this paper, group training protocols for beamforming of multiple devices are proposed in the context of the IEEE 802.15.3c standard using single carrier. The standard defined sector and beam-level training sequences function well if only the establishment of one or two communication links is required, but in the case of, e.g. interactive gaming or conference room environment it can lead to considerable inefficiency. The proposed group training protocols address the cases where two or more devices need to carry out beamforming in order to communicate with each other. Moreover, the group training method exploits the knowledge that the personal area network coordinator already has on the associated devices. The standard defined beamforming protocol and the group training proposals are evaluated using varying superframe lengths in both symmetric and asymmetric antenna systems. The results show that group training can reduce the time to achieve beam-level synchronization considerably even when only two devices need to connect while staying compliant with the standard.