The smart wireless LAN system: physical layer design and results

The smart wireless LAN (SWL) system integrates SDMA with the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard to enable multiple users to transmit on a wireless LAN at the same time. The physical layer design of the SWL system allows for remote terminals to transmit and receive as specified in the 802.11 standard. The SWL base station uses an antenna array and SDMA techniques to simultaneously transmit and receive data from up to four terminals at once. Downlink is performed via a delay and combination at the base station while utilizing standard beamforming techniques. Uplink signals are separated and decoded at the base station using a simple pseudoinverse technique utilizing the spatial signature knowledge found previously. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of using SDMA in our wireless LAN scenario. Computer simulation results show the feasibility and potential of this method.