Wi-Fi R-MESH

Wi-Fi R-MESH

Overview

Wi‑Fi R‑Mesh is an innovative tree-topology mesh network architecture designed to extend Wi‑Fi coverage. Through multi-level node collaboration, it effectively eliminates signal dead zones in traditional networks, enabling devices far from the AP to enjoy stable, high‑speed connectivity.

As shown on the right, the network supports multiple root nodes for broader coverage. Root nodes STA1 and STA2 extend to multi-level child nodes (STA1-0 to STA1-3 and STA2-0 to STA2-3), forming a clearly layered tree structure.

This technology is ideal for large-area scenarios such as villas and multi-story office buildings, using multi-hop relaying to achieve seamless signal extension and eliminate coverage blind spots.

Efficient Forwarding

With its innovative approach, Wi‑Fi R‑Mesh implements data forwarding directly at the Wi‑Fi driver layer, bypassing the complex processing of traditional TCP/IP protocol stacks, and significantly simplifying the Wi‑Fi driver layer (unlike conventional MESH where intermediate nodes need to create hotspots and establish Wi-Fi connections). This design greatly reduces resource consumption of SRAM memory and MCU computing power.

As shown in the bottom-left figure, data communication between end devices is transparent to R-MESH forwarding. Intermediate relay nodes perform low‑level forwarding between nodes via the "Wi‑Fi MAC" layer. In contrast, traditional mesh networks (the bottom-right figure) require relay nodes to enable a hotspot (SoftAP) and rely on higher‑layer NAT protocols to assist with forwarding.

Loop Avoidance

Traditional mesh networks allow links to form between any two nodes. As shown on the right, STA1, STA2, and STA3 are all interconnected, creating a loop. There are multiple paths from STA3 to STA1, which incurs additional overhead to select the optimal path. The network also relies on mechanisms such as Time To Live (TTL) to prevent packets from circulating indefinitely within the loop; simply waiting for a packet’s TTL to drop to zero wastes significant time.

Wi‑Fi R‑Mesh adopts a tree topology, fundamentally preventing loops. As shown on the right, once a path between STA3 and STA1 is established (STA3‑STA2‑STA1), no additional parallel paths will be created. Each pair of nodes transmits packets along a single, unique path in one pass—simple and efficient.

No Routing Management Required

Traditional mesh networks typically require maintaining a routing table in the upper-layer software at each node, and the software consults this table during packet forwarding to determine the next hop.

R-Mesh, by contrast, records routing information—such as father and child nodes—directly in each node’s registers and employs dedicated circuitry to identify and forward packets that need relaying, thereby eliminating the overhead of software-based routing table maintenance and lookup.

Low RTT

The minimalist architecture of Wi‑Fi R‑Mesh significantly enhances real‑time performance. Even across multiple hops, it maintains high throughput and extremely low latency, making it particularly suitable for IoT and smart‑home scenarios that demand low power and high efficiency.

As shown in the figure, as packet size increases, round‑trip latency across different hop counts (from 1 to 5 hops) grows very slowly. Even with 5‑hop transmission (green curve), the latency is significantly lower than that in traditional Mesh networks.

Companion Apps

Wi-Fi R-Mesh comes with companion apps for Android and PC. They can be used to monitor, in real time, the network topology formed by R-Mesh nodes, the signal strength of network connections, as well as information such as each node’s MAC address and IP address.

The App can also perform ping tests on nodes and update their firmware via OTA. Users can also use this App as a reference to redevelop an App tailored to their own application scenarios.

Advantages

A software-unsensible mesh network

All Mesh protocols are implemented at the Wi-Fi driver layer. Regardless of whether it's a root node or a child node, the application layer can view the current node as a Wi-Fi Station connected to an AP.

Rapid pairing and switching within microseconds

Child nodes can quickly switch parent nodes, and the switching process does not affect data communication. A node can carry all of its child nodes to switch to another parent node together, without affecting the data communication of any nodes.

High throughput and low data latency

R-Mesh data forwarding is efficiently completed in the underlying driver, with extremely short software processing time. Even devices that go through multiple hops maintain relatively high throughput.

Network stability

There's no need for algorithms to maintain routing tables, making the entire network very stable. Traditional problems like routing loops in Mesh networks do not occur.

Typical Applications

Smart Lighting: Automatically network lights to operate without a central gateway, enabling whole-house intelligent lighting control.
Smart Agriculture: Automatically network devices like soil temperature/humidity sensors and pest-monitoring cameras to overcome complex terrain limitations in farmland. Achieves synchronous data collection across expansive farmland and coordinated smart irrigation control.
PV Micro-inverters: Automatically network micro-inverter devices to effectively resolve signal coverage challenges in complex building environments. Enables real-time monitoring and remote control of distributed photovoltaic units.

Smart Lighting

Automatically network lights to operate without a central gateway, enabling whole-house intelligent lighting control.

Smart Agriculture

Automatically network devices like soil temperature/humidity sensors and pest-monitoring cameras to overcome complex terrain limitations in farmland. Achieves synchronous data collection across expansive farmland and coordinated smart irrigation control.

PV Micro-inverters

Automatically network micro-inverter devices to effectively resolve signal coverage challenges in complex building environments. Enables real-time monitoring and remote control of distributed photovoltaic units.

Development Resources

	SDK Download	Link
	R-MESH Development Guide	Link
	Contact Us	Link

Recommended ICs

Features	Filter	RTL872xD	RTL8721Dx	RTL8721F	RTL8720E	RTL8710E	RTL8726E	RTL8713E	RTL8730E	RTL8735B
Application Processor	Cortex-M Cortex-A	Cortex-M	Cortex-M	Cortex-M	Cortex-M	Cortex-M	Cortex-M	Cortex-M	Cortex-A	Cortex-M
DSP	Select
ISP?	Select
TrustZone	Select
Dual Band?	Select
Wi-Fi6	Select
R-MESH?	Select
Ultra-low power	Select
Ethernet	Select
BT Dual Mode	Select
HMI?	Select
Audio ADC?	Select
Audio DAC?	Select
USB	Select
BT Dedicated Antenna?	Select