Channel Quality Estimation for Improving Awareness of Communication Situation in the 2.4 GHz ISM Band

Supported by the technological advancements in wireless communication systems, current mobile devices are capable of utilizing diverse radio interfaces. Furthermore, there are various networks around the mobile devices in heterogeneous networks. If the mobile devices are aware of the status of channels used by different communications, the devices can utilize a wide range of network options intelligently in heterogeneous networks. However, it is not easy for mobile devices to estimate the quality of channels used by different networks because of differences among communication standards. To overcome this limitation, we view the channel map used for Bluetooth communications from a new angle. In this paper, we propose a new scheme which utilizes the channel map to estimate channels' qualities of other standards, not of Bluetooth. Using the proposed scheme named BluS, mobile devices can estimate channels' qualities of standards using the 2.4 GHz ISM band. Therefore, the devices with BluS are able to make decisions more intelligently and properly in heterogeneous networks. We implemented BluS on off-the-shelf smartphones and conducted extensive experiments and analysis to verify the performance of BluS.