Collaborative beamforming in ad hoc networks

The performance of collaborative beamforming is analyzed using the theory of random arrays. The statistical average and distribution of the beam patterns of randomly generated phased arrays are derived in the framework of wireless ad hoc sensor networks. Each sensor node is assumed to have a single isotropic antenna and nodes in the cluster collaboratively transmit the signal such that the signal in the target direction is coherently added in the far-field region. The distribution of the maximum beam pattern sidelobe is also analyzed and a closed-form bound is derived based on the Gaussian approximation method.