A collision free MAC protocol using smart antenna in ad hoc networks

Smart antennas have been used to enhance the performance of ad hoc networks. The paper proposes a collision free MAC (media access control) protocol using smart antennas in wireless ad hoc networks. The physical communication links are converted into several logical communication link groups, and the MNs (mobile nodes) with logical communication links that are in the same link group can transmit packets to the desired sector spaces at the same time. Every MN can transfer data in the space and cause no interference to each other. The proposed mechanism can increase channel utilization and limit transmission delay. The superior transmission delay and utilization results compared with the traditional RTS/CTS and the central control mechanism are also analyzed in the simulation. The results show that the proposed mechanism can increase the channel utilization and limit the transmission delay efficiently.