USE OF SIDE INFORMATION IN ADAPTIVE PROTOCOLS FOR SPREAD-SPECTRUM PACKET RADIO NETWORKS

RELIABLE DATA DISTRIBUTION WITHIN SPREAD-SPECTRUM PACKET RADIO NETWORKS REQUIRES HIGH PERFORMANCE FROM THE LINKS AND AS WELL AS FROM THE NETWORK PROTOCOLS. SIDE INFORMATION CAN BE EXTRACTED FROM RECEIVED SIGNALS THAT ARE EMBEDDED IN NOISE AND INTERFERENCE, AND THIS INFORMATION CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF THE LINKS AND TO AID THE NETWORK PROTOCOLS IN ESTABLISHING RELIABLE ROUTES THROUGHOUT THE NETWORK. THE PROPOSED PROJECT INVOLVES THE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, AND EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE OF TECHNIQUES AND ALGORITHMS FOR DEVELOPING SIDE INFORMATION AND USING IT EFFECTIVELY TO AID LINK AND NETWORK PERFORMANCE IN SPREAD-SPECTRUM PACKET RADIO NETWORKS. THE GOAL IS TO IMPROVE FREQUENCY-HOP PACKET RADIO NETWORK PERFORMANCE BY INCORPORATING NEW METHODS FOR OBTAINING AND USING SIDE INFORMATION IN THE RECEPTION OF SIGNALS AND IN THE ROUTING OF PACKETS THROUGH THE NETWORK.