RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) - definition
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) - definition
RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) is a technical parameter which defines the power level of a radio signal received by a communication device, usually expressed in decibels (dB relative to the milliwatt (dBm). In practice, it provides a measure of the strength of the signal coming from the transmitter to the receiver and is used to assess the quality of the connection in wireless systems such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, GSM, LTE or location-based systems.
RSSI is not an absolute value with a uniform scale, but a relative indicator, the interpretation of which may vary depending on the equipment manufacturer and the implementation of the radio chips. In many cases, it takes the form of an integer on a conventional scale (e.g. from 0 to 100), where higher values indicate a stronger signal. In low-level systems, RSSI is often converted into a voltage value corresponding to the power level of the receiving circuit.
In practical applications, this parameter is used for range optimisation, selection of the best transmission channel, switching of roaming access points, and as an auxiliary indicator in radio signal-based localisation systems. In the context of the physical layer of wireless communication, the RSSI makes it possible to assess whether the signal level is sufficient to ensure reliable data transmission with the specified throughput and immunity to interference.
From a radio systems engineering perspective, RSSI is one of a number of diagnostic parameters, along with SNR (signal-to-noise ratio), BER (bit error rate) and channel quality, which together allow transmission conditions to be assessed and adaptive decisions to be made by communication protocols. In systems with a highly dynamic environment, such as mobile networks or IoT, the variation in RSSI values is an important source of information about interference, signal attenuation and the presence of physical obstacles.
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