Measurements of the wireless ad hoc array concept in a large building setting for public-safety communications

Here we report on measurements of the ad hoc array concept in an enclosed atrium/lobby area of a high-rise building in Denver, Colorado. A typical ad hoc network is limited to coverage area achieved by the useable coverage of single nodes; however, we seek to expand the radio frequency coverage by using two or more nodes as elements of an ad hoc array. Previous simulations and theoretical analysis suggest the benefits of the array concept; these measurements in a real-world environment demonstrate that the ad hoc array can provide meaningful gain, up to 10 dB with only four elements. The measurements also indicate a gain of 4 dB to 6 dB using only two elements.