MONET special issue editorial

Abstract

Ultra Wide Band (UWB) radio is a physical transmission technique suitable for different kinds of applications. Given the relevant power emission constraints imposed by the regulatory bodies in the United States, but likely to be adopted by other countries as well, UWB is emerging as a particularly appealing transmission technique for applications requiring either high bit rates over short ranges or low bit rates over medium to long ranges. With the recent release of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard for low-bit-rate WPANs, the low-bit-rate case has gained worldwide attention, for application to long-range sensor networks such as: indoor-outdoor distributed surveillance systems, non real-time data applications like e-mail and instant messaging, and in general all data transfers compatible with a transmission rate in the order of 1 Mbps over several tens of meters. The application scenarios refer to networks that commonly adopt the self-organizing principle, i.e., distributed networks, like ad-hoc and sensor networks, such as groups of wireless terminals located in a limited-size geographical area, communicating in an infrastructure-free fashion, and without any central coordinating unit or base station. Multi-hop communication is often employed to extend coverage and reduce power consumption. Furthermore, Ultra Wide Band typical features, such as the need for operating at low power vs. a rather accurate ranging capability, may have a significant impact on the