Ad-hoc network routing using co-operative diversity

One important goal of communication systems is to establish a point-to-point connection between two end users. Previous and current generations of the systems that provide for such communications are most often based on wired links (including optical fiber). Currently wireless multi-hop ad hoc networks utilize protocols that relay packets of data node-by-node along a path connecting the source node to the sink node. This paper describes a new cooperative diversity (CD) methodology for wireless network communications that leverages the fact that RF energy scatters and propagates to many users simultaneously. Specifically, we describe and evaluate a protocol designed to establish end-to-end communication within a large field of autonomous wireless devices producing reduced latency and greatly increased robustness against signal fading and interference. In addition, this new protocol often requires less transmit power than existing techniques.