Throughput Enhancement in Wi-Fi Using SDMA Through IPS /

Abstract

As communication systems continue to evolve rapidly, addressing the challenges they encounter becomes increasingly vital. This thesis presents a comprehensive study on enhancing the performance of Wi-Fi systems, by giving a particular focus on integrating Space Division Multiple Access (SDMA) with the traditional Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) protocol. The research begins with a detailed exploration of the IEEE 802.11 standards, providing a strong foundation for understanding their role in wireless communication. Existing Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) designs are reviewed and categorized, highlighting current methodologies and technical challenges. A specific IPS methodology is the root for the thought for utilizing space division idea proposed in this thesis. A novel SDMA-based approach is proposed to address network bottlenecks caused by carrier sense mechanisms. By combining SDMA with CSMA, the solution aims to reduce collision and contention, especially in high user-density environments. The work involves evaluating wireless simulation tools to identify the most effective environment for testing the proposed system. A selected simulation tool is further customized to meet the specific requirements of this study. The system performance is tested through multiple simulation scenarios. Simulations are designed to reflect real-world use cases, incorporating randomly distributed users within various indoor layouts. Further evaluations included expanding the simulation area, simplifying antenna sweeping strategies, and testing the system under a broader range of user densities. Simulation scenarios demonstrate that SDMA significantly improves network throughput—nearly doubling it compared to CSMA—while also reducing frame loss, even under unfavorable user density conditions. An expanded simulation area further tests scalability and confirms the robustness of the SDMA mechanism across varying network loads. However, performance gains diminish under extreme congestion, highlighting the need for context aware deployment strategies. The results underscore SDMA’s potential as a viable enhancement for future IPS and Wi-Fi systems, offering a foundation for continued research into dynamic, large-scale indoor environments. The thesis concludes by outlining future research directions, including testing additional specialized scenarios, exploring the use of multiple phased array antennas, analyzing diverse real-world layouts, and extending compatibility across different IEEE 802.11 standards and spectral bands.