Single Reception Estimation of Wireless Link Quality

Quick and accurate estimation of link quality, and more specifically packet loss probability, is the key element for efficient and effective communications in wireless multi-hop networks. We focus on IEEE 802.15.4 and we posit that losses only occur when noise and interference last long enough and are strong enough relatively to the received signal, to hinder packet reception. So, the key information for any ordered node pair is the signal to noise plus interference ratio distribution, which we obtain by combining the observed noise plus interference power at the receiver with the received signal strength. In this paper, we propose two novel schemes for the estimation of PER: Burst-NISI and Sample-NISI. Burst-NISI is based on high frequency measurements of the power level of ambient noise and interference around a given node. Sample-NISI sporadically samples the power level of ambient noise and interference when the radio operates according to a duty cycle. Using a large scale experimental platform, we show that our packet error rate estimation schemes are accurate for any packet length and diverse experimentation sites with different settings, for which the prediction is within 10 percentage points of the PER value measured a posteriori.