Throughput maximization for cooperative 60Â GHz wireless personal area networks

Transmission in the 60 GHz frequency band performs poorly in long-distance direct links due to the large path loss. The received signal strength can be relatively weak if the line-of-sight path is blocked by obstacles. A device cooperation approach, which effectively combats the severe path loss thereby improving the overall throughput for wireless personal area networks (WPANs), is proposed in this paper. Throughput maximization is formulated as a linear programming problem and the optimal solutions are provided in each case. Comprehensive simulations are performed to quantify the performance of the cooperative approach with different antenna models and spatial reuse strategies. The effect of minor-lobe, imperfect information and other factors are investigated under different network settings. The performance analysis presented here can provide guidelines for the design of cooperative 60 GHz WPANs.