Performance of Packet-Based Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Radio Control Systems

Real-time Radio Control (RC) systems require instantaneous response in the controlled device. RC systems have wide applications, including ad hoc networks. Imperfections in the wireless channel (noise and interference) result in randomly fluctuating latency in the response of the system. A lag occurs when the system latency exceeds a specified real-time threshold. System Lag Occurrence Probability (SLOP) is the probability of lag occurrence and is derived as the performance metric to characterize user experience in real-time radio control systems. Frequency hopping is used to mitigate interference effects. Uniform serial acquisition and N-state lock detection are used to simplify the derivation of SLOP. Simulation results are presented to verify the derivation of SLOP.