Understanding the gap between theory and practice of 60 GHz networks is crucial. Theoretical models typically focus on the physical layer only and assume ideal hardware components. However, such assumptions do not hold in practice. For instance, the cost-effective design of commercial off-the-shelf products often results in hardware impairments, such as highly irregular beam shapes. Further, mobility and frame aggregation have a strong impact throughout the protocol stack. Taking these effects into account when designing 60 GHz networking mechanisms is critical. In this paper, we characterize the aforementioned effects and contribute a comprehensive dataset of real-world traces that capture them. Among other traces, our dataset includes measurements of actual beam patterns, the impact of the cases of the devices on propagation, exhaustive measurements on the degradation of link performance in case of mobility, and the behavior of aggregation at the physical layer. Our dataset is the most comprehensive study of this kind to date. As a result, our work allows researchers to take the aforementioned hardware impairments into account, which paves the way for comparable and realistic evaluations of 60 GHz networking mechanisms in the community.

In this paper, we target single-anchor localization schemes for millimeter wave (MMW) systems. The schemes are designed to be lightweight, so that even computationally-constrained devices can support them. We identify the main propagation properties of MMW signals that have an impact on localization and design three algorithms that exploit these, namely a triangulation-validation procedure, an angle difference-of-arrival approach, and a scheme based on location fingerprinting. We evaluate the algorithms by means of simulations, and draw conclusions on their robustness. We then validate our results via measurements involving commercial pre- standard 60- GHz MMW hardware. Our experiments confirm that, by relying only on a single anchor and without requiring complex signal processing at the receiver, the algorithms can localize a node with high probability, and in many cases with sub-meter accuracy. We conclude by discussing how these algorithms complement each other in terms of robustness and localization success probability.

The performance of current consumer-grade devices for 60 GHz wireless networks is limited. While such networks promise both high data rates and uncomplicated spatial reuse, we find that commercially available devices based on the WiHD and WiGig standards may suffer from their cost-effective design. Very similar mechanisms are used in upcoming devices based on the IEEE 802.11ad standard. Hence, understanding them well is crucial to improve the efficiency and performance of next generation millimeter wave networks. In this paper, we present the first in-depth beamforming, interference, and frame level protocol analysis of off-the-shelf millimeter wave systems with phased antenna arrays. We focus on (a) the interference due to the lack of directionality of consumer-grade antennas, and (b) the degree of data aggregation of current devices. Regarding (a), our beam pattern measurements show strong side lobes that challenge the common conception of high spatial reuse in 60 GHz networks. We also show that reflections in realistic settings worsen this effect. Further, we measure weak directionality when beamforming towards the boundary of the transmission area of an antenna array. Regarding (b), we observe that devices only aggregate data if connections require high bandwidth, thus increasing medium usage time otherwise.