Improving the performance of packet radio networks with adaptive array antennas

The authors propose a novel method to improve the performance of packet radio networks, namely, using adaptive array antennas on the packet radio units instead of omnidirectional antennas. An adaptive array can acquire a packet arriving from one direction and then null packets from other directions to prevent them from interfering with the acquired packet. By protecting the acquired packet, an adaptive array allows one packet to be received, even when interfering packets are present. To investigate the effect of an adaptive array on packet radio network performance, the authors consider a simple two-hop packet radio network with an adaptive array at the station. These preliminary results show that an adaptive array can greatly increase the throughput.<>