Power controlled dual channel (PCDC) medium access protocol for wireless ad hoc networks

In this paper, we propose a comprehensive solution for power control in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Our solution emphasizes the interplay between the MAC and network layers, whereby the MAC layer indirectly influences the selection of the next-hop by properly adjusting the power of route request packets. This is done while maintaining network connectivity. Directional and channel-gain information obtained mainly from overheard RTS and CTS packets is used to dynamically construct the network topology. By properly estimating the required transmission power for data packets, our protocol allows for interference-limited simultaneous transmissions to take place in the neighborhood of a receiving node. Simulation results indicate that compared to the IEEE 802.11 approach, the proposed protocol achieves a significant increase in the channel utilization and end-to-end network throughput, and a significant decrease in the total energy consumption.