CSMA/CA-based MAC Protocol for Aerial Audio Networking

Audio networking is a wireless technology that supports short-range low-data-rate communication using audio waves. A key advantage of audio networking is that it utilizes the ubiquitously available audio hardware, i.e., speakers and microphones. Being the most common electronic devices, smartphones augment the importance of using this technology as a low-cost communication solution. In this work, we propose Media Access Control (MAC) protocol for aerial audio networking. The protocol modifies the existing 802.11 Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA)-based MAC protocol to accommodate the nature of aerial audio networks. We developed an Android app that implements the proposed protocol on off-the-shelf smartphones. We estimate the time parameters involved in the protocol to ensure efficient operation. We also perform an overall check of the MAC implementation and argue that our MAC achieves an efficiency that compares well with the fundamental efficiency of contention-based MAC protocols.