SyncMesh
Superior RF Management
To gracefully handle complex RF communications, SkyPilot developed an innovative method of synchronizing and coordinating network-wide transmissions to mitigate interference and provide efficient use of available spectrum.
Synchronous Time-Division Duplex (TDD) Protocol
All SkyPilot mesh infrastructure products have an embedded GPS chip that provides a common clock for synchronization. With synchronization across all elements, SkyPilot utilizes a WiMAX-like time-division duplex (TDD) protocol to schedule transmissions between devices. SkyPilot's TDD protocol is inherently deterministic and thus provides the low-jitter and low-latency required for latency-sensitive applications like VoIP.
Dynamic Bandwidth Scheduling
The most significant aspect of SkyPilot's system is its ability to dynamically optimize network-wide bandwidth through a sophisticated, distributed scheduling protocol. This Synchronous Mesh Protocol (SMP) takes into account the interconnected mesh of sectorized antennas to coordinate transmissions between devices that maximize the available frequency, link capacity, and overall network architecture. Not only does this mitigate interference and provide spectral reuse and spatial segmentation (see below), but it also provides prioritized traffic management to maintain quality-of-service metrics and optimize throughput for all other traffic.
Interference Mitigation
SkyPilot's sectorized antenna array provides extended range, high modulation, and 360° coverage, but if transmissions aren't coordinated properly, the network would suffer from serious interference problems. To overcome self-interference issues, SkyPilot gave each mesh infrastructure product an integrated, high-speed, intelligent switch fabric to coordinate the antenna sectors' communications with other mesh infrastructure products. The Synchronous Mesh Protocol coordinates the narrow-beam transmit and receive sectors of two mesh infrastructure products to effectively mitigate interference within the SkyPilot mesh.
Spectral Reuse and Spatial Segmentation
Not only does coordinating the transmit and receive sectors mitigate self-interference, but it also effectively enables spectral reuse and spatial segmentation. Unlike omnidirectional systems, which radiate transmissions in all directions and require all nodes within range to listen, SkyPilot employs a coordinated pattern of sectorized communications to efficiently frequency throughout the mesh.
Spectral Reuse
When a mesh node is communicating on a single 45° sector, the remaining 315° coverage area is available for simultaneous communications between other mesh devices. This allows the dynamic bandwidth scheduling protocol to coordinate other simultaneous communications to provide efficient reuse of the spectrum throughout the entire mesh network.Spatial Segmentation
Not only is the remaining 315° available for reuse, but SkyPilot can even provide spatial segmentation within the 45° sector of a transmission. Since the transmission is destined for a single mesh node, all other mesh nodes within that 45° sector aren't receiving and therefore can communicate simultaneously. The Synchronous Mesh Protocol intelligently coordinates spatial segmentation to reuse spectrum in the 45° transmit sector as well.
Through spectral reuse and spatial segmentation, SkyPilot effectively increases aggregate capacity by coordinating simultaneous transmissions, thereby increasing subscriber performance and permitting subscriber densities not possible with other wireless broadband solutions.
To provide efficient spectrum utilization, each system only transmits on active sectors, thus utilizing the full capacity of the system by not wasting bandwidth on inactive sectors.
Next Step: Leveraging 360° Coverage for Sophisticated Mesh Networking