A Physical/Virtual Carrier-Sense-Based Power Control MAC Protocol for Collision Avoidance in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

A kind of hidden terminal problem, called the POINT problem, which is caused by the expansion of the interference range of the receiver due to the controlled transmission power of the sender, is deemed a notorious problem in wireless ad hoc networks. This paper utilizes physical and virtual carrier-sensing schemes to avoid the POINT problem. We analyze the relationships among the transmission range, the carrier-sensing range, and the interference range in case power control is adopted, and based on the analyzed results, we propose four mechanisms to prevent the POINT problem from occurring in wireless ad hoc networks. This paper further analyzes the superiority of each mechanism under certain situations and proposes an adaptive range-based power control (ARPC) MAC protocol to make use of the advantages of the four mechanisms to avoid the POINT problem from happening. The proposed protocol cannot only prevent collisions caused by the POINT problem, but it can also reduce the energy consumption of STAs. Simulation results also verify the advantages of the proposed protocol.