| Summary: | The performance of wireless networks can be greatly influenced by the radiation pattern and polarization of the antennas at the nodes, especially when they are under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) channel environments. In this study, we designed a planar quasi-isotropic antenna based on the combination of a meandered electric dipole and an electrically small loop at a frequency of 2.45 GHz. Its electrical size (<i>ka</i>) is 0.47 and shows a gain deviation of 3.01 dB with radiation efficiency of 82.6% per the simulation. The performance of a wireless link under the line-of-sight and NLOS channels in an indoor environment was measured using the proposed quasi-isotropic antenna as a receiving antenna after validating its radiation and impedance properties experimentally (the measured gain deviation: 5.2 dB, the measured radiation efficiency: 79.2%). This study demonstrates that better properties are achieved using the quasi-isotropic antenna. The quasi-isotropic antenna shows an improved packet delivery ratio (PDR) and received signal strength indicator (RSSI) compared to the results using omni-directional antennas as a transmitting and receiving pair in the NLOS channels. To the best of our knowledge, the experimental validation of the enhancement of wireless link reliability using a quasi-isotropic antenna has not been reported before, and was first carried out in this study.
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