A PHY/MAC Approach to Wireless Routing

Routing data through a wireless network is made challenging by impairments in the wireless medium, such as fading. Nevertheless, wireless routing if implemented, will result in tremendous cost-savings in next generation wireless networks. This paper examines centralized and decentralized approaches for wireless routing from a PHY/MAC perspective. We show that decentralized routing strategies are capable of realizing full spatial diversity gain if an appropriate level of channel knowledge is available at the relay terminals. Furthermore, we propose a new carrier sensing random access based routing technique designed to avoid collision and conserve network power. A numerical example is provided to demonstrate that the technique is capable of realizing full spatial diversity gain.