An IEEE 802.11ah programmable modem

Abstract

We introduce an architecture for a programmable IEEE 802.11ah Wi-Fi modem based on a new Cadence Xtensabased low-energy DSP. The design is based on a methodology for partitioning the system into hardware and software components that takes into account power consumption, silicon area and the need for programmability. Physical layer software functions avail the DSP's extensible architecture options for baseband processing, such as complex signal filtering and FFT acceleration instructions. We provide sensitivity data from software simulations and laboratory tests that demonstrate the modem is capable of reliable detection and decoding of 2MHz packets with -107dBm of received signal power. Additionally, we analyze latency requirements for a System-on-Chip (SoC) design.

Real-Time Station Grouping under Dynamic Traffic for IEEE 802.11ah

“…Several recent works study physical layer aspects of 802.11ah and sub-1 GHz communications [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Hazmi [ 9 ] conducts assessment on the link budget, and derives the achievable data rate and optimal packet size of 802.11ah.…”

“…Aust and Prasad [ 12 ] proposed an IEEE 802.11ah prototype that is configured as a self-contained M2M wireless sensor system and allows an over-the-air protocol performance assessment. Casas and Papaparaskeva [ 13 ] introduced a design for a programmable 802.11ah station based on the Cadence-Tensilica Fusion digital signal processor (DSP). Aust, Prasad and Niemegeers [ 11 ] built a real-time Multiple-input, multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) testing platform for evaluating narrow-band sub-1GHz transmission characteristics.…”