A novel approach for the link layer in impulse-based UWB ad hoc networks

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) impulse radio, promises to be suitable for short-range, low-power, low cost and high data rate applications. While most UWB research is concentrating on the physical layer, little research has been published on the link layer. The fundamental operations in the link layer need to take into account the specifics of impulse radio and also the particular features of ad hoc networks. A novel self-organizing link layer protocol based on time hopping impulse radio, called SDD, was proposed by the authors. This protocol is a collision-free mechanism that enables the devices to discover neighboring nodes and arrange the access to communication resources shared among the nodes. In this paper, some issues related to the self-organizing link layer based on UWB impulse radio are investigated and addressed. The SDD protocol is further developed and specified in detail. The simulations are carried out using GloMoSim simulation environment. An SDD module has been developed and embedded in the simulator. Results show that the SDD protocol can work properly and efficiently in a single-hop ad hoc network.