IEEE 802.15.8: Infrastructureless Peer-Aware Communications with Fully Distributed Coordination

The burgeoning of social networking and peerto- peer applications enabling peer-aware services requires a global standard to ensure effective infrastructureless communications with fully distributed coordination features among neighboring mobile devices. Before the IEEE 802.15.8 project was started, no single existing standard totally supported the above requirements. Therefore, IEEE 802.15.8 was expected to thoroughly address these issues by providing scalable, low-power, and highly reliable peer-aware communications. This article analyzes the technical criteria of IEEE 802.15.8 communications, presents the standard's advanced features, and discusses current challenges the standard faces.