| Title |
Experimental Study on WiFi Coverage Expansion |
| Authors |
박주하(Juha Park) ; 임윤섭(Yoonseop Lim) ; 강지훈(Jihun Kang) ; 김선민(Seonmin Kim) ; 성재협(Jaehyup Seong) ; 이원재(Won-Jae Lee) ; 김재현(Jae-Hyun Kim) ; 신원재(Wonjae Shin) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5573/ieie.2022.59.9.3 |
| Keywords |
Coverage expansion; Non-terrestrial networks; UAV; Mesh WiFi; WiFi expriment |
| Abstract |
All of the objects in the real world are envisioned to be connected through the next-generation WiFi or other wireless access technologies that profoundly reshape the way people and technology connect with each other, such as smart factories, smart homes, and self-driving cars. To realize the hyper-connected society in the future, the expansion of WiFi coverage is one of the key requirements. To extend WiFi coverage, the user of WiFi Extender, Mesh WiFi, and aerial nodes can be considered. In this paper, we compare WiFi coverage expansion methods in terms of two metrics: RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) in dBm and Data Rate in Mbps. First of all, the basic principle of WiFi Extender and Mesh WiFi, two representative WiFi coverage expansion methods in the literature, are briefly presented, and the performance of the two methods is compared using commercial WiFi devices. Second, an LoS (Line-of-Sight) probability model between aerial node and station on the ground is investigated and the effect of aerial node’s altitude on WiFi coverage in residential environments is analyzed through real-world experiments. By doing so, we conclude from our experiments that Mesh WiFi is a more efficient expansion method than WiFi Extender in terms of signal quality, connectivity, and convenience. In particular, aerial nodes can be a viable option as a relay by providing a wide WiFi coverage, especially in urban and residential environments where a smart device at one location may more frequently experience severe signal attenuation. |