Enabling distributed medium access control for impulse-based ultrawideband radios

Impulse-based ultrawideband (I-UWB) is an attractive radio technology for large ad hoc and sensor networks due to its robustness to multipath effects, subcentimeter ranging ability, simple hardware, and low radiated power. Large distributed networks, such as ad hoc and sensor networks, often implement distributed medium access control (MAC) protocols based on carrier sense multiple access (CSMA). In CSMA, narrowband systems check for medium activity before transmitting by checking for in-band energy around a carrier frequency. I-UWB system's lack a carrier, and the narrow pulses, low radiated power, harsh channel conditions, and strict Federal Communications Commission power limits present challenges in detecting medium activity. We propose a pulse sensor for I-UWB systems that overcomes the challenges of quickly, reliably, and efficiently identifying medium activity. The pulse sensor enables distributed MAC protocols for I-UWB radios that are analogous to CSMA for narrowband radios. Simulations show that the proposed pulse sensor architecture is practical for I-UWB radios.