Distributed Channel Access Scheduling for Ad Hoc Networks using Virtual MIMO

We propose the distributed channel access scheduling using virtual MIMO protocol (CHAMP). In CHAMP, nodes build a channel schedule in a distributed fashion to utilize the spatial multiplexing gain of virtual MIMO links. We also use a cooperative relay strategy to fully utilize the available degrees of freedom of virtual antenna arrays. We analyze the single-hop saturation throughput of CHAMP and evaluate its multi-hop performance through simulation. The results show that CHAMP can achieve better performance than a contention-based MAC protocol using MIMO links.