This paper proposes a PHYsical (PHY) layer design that enables Multi-Packet Reception (MPR) in distributed wireless networks using advanced antenna systems. The main objective of this work is to present a backward compatible solution that is able to exploit the capabilities of adaptive arrays, allowing the coexistence of non-legacy and legacy 802.11g nodes. The proposed scheme is designed for an asynchronous scenario, in which a node can access to the medium as long as the number of ongoing communications lies within a given threshold, and considering an heterogeneous network, in which the antenna system can be different for each node. The developed solution is implemented in an hybrid discrete-time discrete-event simulation platform obtained integrating MATLAB and network simulator-2 (ns-2), in order to explore the system performance for different network topologies and in presence of multipath-fading.
