ADAS: Adaptive Switching between Full-Duplex and MU-MIMO for Wi-Fi Networks

Abstract

Full-duplex (FD) and multiuser multi-input multioutput (MU-MIMO) approaches have been attracting much attention as core technologies of next-generation Wi-Fi systems, since they have vast potential to improve communication performance. In particular, the system throughput can be significantly increased if both technologies are used in harmony, based on a solid understanding of the characteristics of each technology. To realise this, it is essential and important for a node using both technologies to acquire a priori channel and queue information about the receiving nodes. Unfortunately, it is very challenging to obtain this information in Wi-Fi networks in which there are no separate channels or proper protocols. In this paper, a new MAC protocol for Wi-Fi networks is proposed, called ADAS, which selects the transmission strategy that best matches the given network environment. By fully utilising the conventional CSI acquisition protocol, an ADAS access point (AP) effectively obtains the necessary information and exploits it appropriately, in order to yield higher throughput gains. Through extensive Matlab simulations, the author proves that ADAS maintains high system throughputs for dynamic network changes.