RSQ-MAC: A robust, self-organising, hybrid TDMA/OFDMA medium access protocol for vehicular, sensor, and tactical ad-hoc networks

While 802.11-based radio networks provide cheap local networking functionality and 802.16-based mesh networks provide high-bandwidth connectivity, both technologies operate by creating a necessary infrastructure (access points or base stations). Yet there exists a gap in existing functionality for kilometre-scale, infrastructure-less and mobile radio networks, providing robust and fair service, and reliable quality of service guarantees. In this paper, we develop and analyse a medium access protocol for vehicular and tactical ad-hoc networks which is based on a self-organising hybrid TDMA/OFDMA-approach and achieves hard real-time QoS levels. An implementation study on a software-defined radio platform providing real-world experience concludes this work.