IEEE 802.11bn multi-AP coordinated spatial reuse with hierarchical multi-armed bandits

Abstract

Coordination among multiple access points (APs) is integral to IEEE 802.11bn (Wi-Fi 8) for managing contention in dense networks. This letter explores the benefits of Coordinated Spatial Reuse (C-SR) and proposes the use of reinforcement learning to optimize C-SR group selection. We develop a hierarchical multi-armed bandit (MAB) framework that efficiently selects APs for simultaneous transmissions across various network topologies, demonstrating reinforcement learning’s promise in Wi-Fi settings. Among several MAB algorithms studied, we identify the upper confidence bound (UCB) as particularly effective, offering rapid convergence, adaptability to changes, and sustained performance.