Self-Estimation of Path-Loss Exponent in Wireless Networks and Applications

The path-loss exponent (PLE) is one of the most crucial parameters in wireless communications to characterize the propagation of fading channels. It is currently adopted for many different kinds of wireless network problems such as power consumption issues, modeling the communication environment, and received signal strength (RSS)-based localization. PLE estimation is thus of great use to assist in wireless networking. However, a majority of methods to estimate the PLE require either some particular information of the wireless network, which might be unknown, or some external auxiliary devices, such as anchor nodes or the Global Positioning System. Moreover, this external information might sometimes be unreliable, spoofed, or difficult to obtain. Therefore, a self-estimator for the PLE, which is able to work independently, becomes an urgent demand to robustly and securely get a grip on the PLE for various wireless network applications.