Building wireless mesh networks in forests: antenna direction, transmit power, and vegetation effects on network performance

Wireless mesh networks have become an effective solution for extending Internet connectivity to large areas without an existing communication infrastructure. Building a mesh network in areas with heavy vegetation, however, is challenging due to their severe radio attenuating effects. At Clemson, a wireless mesh network testbed is being built in deep forests to connect watershed monitoring sensors to Internet. This paper presents the testbed and link performance measurements conducted with varied antenna orientation, transmit power, and obstructing vegetation between wireless mesh routers. The results will be useful for deriving radio link models for assessing the performance and reliability of forest wireless networks.