Systems and methods for three dimensional antenna selection and power control in an ad-hoc wireless network

• US 20070149204A1
• Filed: 01/23/2007
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: USTA Technology, LLC (Oso IP, LLC)
• Original Assignee: BBN Technologies (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Redi, Jason, Watson, William, Brett, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 8,026,849 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/46 in multi hop networks, e.g. wireless relay networks

Abstract

A system (105) determines a power level for transmitting to a neighboring node in a wireless network. The system (105) receives a message indicating a three-dimensional position and orientation of the neighboring node and a type of directional antenna of the neighboring node that transmitted the message. The system (105) determines the power level for transmitting to the neighboring node based on the three-dimensional position and orientation of the neighboring node and the type of the directional antenna.

Claims

1. A method of selecting an antenna for transmitting data from a first node in an ad-hoc wireless network, comprising:

receiving a first message from a second node in the ad-hoc wireless network, the message comprising three-dimensional position data associated with the second node;

selecting an antenna from a plurality of antennas based on the three-dimensional position data; and

transmitting a second message from the first node to the second node via the selected antenna.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the three-dimensional position data relates to a latitude, longitude and altitude of the second node.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of antennas comprise a plurality of directional antennas and the selected antenna comprises a directional antenna of the plurality of directional antennas.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining heading, pitch and roll values associated with the first node, wherein selecting the antenna from the plurality of antennas is further based on the determined heading, pitch and roll values.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining three-dimensional position data associated with the first node, wherein selecting the antenna from the plurality of antennas is further based on the three-dimensional position data associated with the first node.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second message comprises a type of the selected antenna, a transmit power at which the second message is transmitted, three-dimensional position data associated with the first node, and heading, pitch and roll values associated with the first node.

7. A computer-readable medium containing instructions for controlling at least one processor to perform a method of selecting an antenna for transmitting a message to a node in an ad-hoc wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving data associated with a three-dimensional position of the node, wherein the three-dimensional position relates to a latitude, longitude and altitude of the node;

selecting a directional antenna from a plurality of directional antennas based on the three-dimensional position data; and

transmitting a message to the node via the selected directional antenna.

8. A first node in an ad-hoc wireless network, comprising:

a transceiver coupled to a plurality of antennas;

a memory configured to store instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the instructions in the memory to;

receive, via one of the plurality of antennas, data associated with a three-dimensional position of a second node in the ad-hoc wireless network,

select an antenna from the plurality of antennas based on the received data, and

transmit data to the second node via the selected antenna.

9. A system for selecting a transmit antenna in a wireless network comprising a plurality of nodes, the method comprising:

means for receiving a message from a first node of the plurality of nodes, the message comprising a three-dimensional position and orientation associated with the first node, the orientation comprising heading, pitch and roll values associated with the first node;

means for determining a vector from a second node of the plurality of nodes to the first node based on the three-dimensional position of the first node; and

means for selecting an antenna from a plurality of antennas for transmitting data based on the determined angle.