Modeling an electronically switchable directional antenna for low-power wireless networks

We present an empirical link-layer model of an electronically switch-able directional antenna for low-power wireless networks. By virtue of directed transmissions, such antennas alleviate wireless contention and increase the communication range at no additional energy cost. In addition, the ability to dynamically change the direction of maximum gain allows to steer the radiated power in different directions on a per-packet basis. However, the few protocols that leverage such features are usually based on abstract antenna models, and are thus of limited applicability. On the contrary, we base our model on extensive real-world experiments using an existing antenna prototype we built. Our model mimics the temporal variations caused by environmental dynamics. We are currently embedding our model in the Cooja simulator, enabling the investigation of protocols leveraging this antenna technology in networks of arbitrary size.