This limitation, however,
is overcome by the mesh technology whereby communication with locations that are
not in LOS can be achieved by hopping through another location(s). However, this still
requires ???indirect??? LOS between the two points. Optical wireless mesh cannot achieve
true NLOS communication as some RF technologies can. Therefore, in applications
requiring true NLOS, FSO and optical wireless mesh technologies do not make sense.
256 Chapter 9
As discussed at the beginning of this chapter, FSO technology makes use of fairly
narrow beams and has a very narrow field-of-view??”a consequence of which is the need
to keep the two ends of an FSO link pointed at each other very precisely. This precludes
the use of optical wireless mesh technology for mobile or even nomadic applications.
Benefits and Shortcomings
Like all technologies, optical wireless mesh technology has its own benefits and shortcomings.
As discussed previously, optical wireless mesh technology is a fusion of two distinct
technologies, optical wireless and mesh networking, each of which has its own benefits
and its own shortcomings. However, the key advantage of the combined solution is the
way the benefits of one complement the shortcomings of the other, leaving the solution
with a large set of benefits and a small set of shortcomings, as recounted here.
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