An asynchronous neighbor discovery algorithm for wireless sensor networks

We consider the problem of determining, in a distributed, asynchronous and scalable manner, what nodes are “neighbors” in a wireless network. Neighbor discovery is an important enabler of network connectivity and energy conservation. An asynchronous, probabilistic neighbor discovery algorithm is presented that permits each node in the network to develop a list of its neighbors, which may be incomplete. The algorithm is analyzed and parameter settings are derived which maximize the fraction of neighbors discovered in a fixed running time. A companion distributed algorithm is also described which allows all the nodes in the network to execute that neighbor discovery algorithm without the need to agree on a common start time.