A protocol for construction of broadcast transmission schedules in mobile ad hoc networks

In a mobile ad hoc network using broadcast transmission scheduling, a terminal that is ready to join the network must first determine the current state of the transmission-scheduling protocol. In order to transmit and receive packets without interference, the new terminal needs to notify other terminals of its presence and exchange information with them so that it can form a collision-free broadcast transmission schedule. A new distributed protocol is described that allows a new terminal to acquire sufficient information about the terminals in its local neighborhood so that it can efficiently integrate itself into the existing transmission schedule. The protocol is also designed to enable a group of terminals to form a new transmission schedule if one does not already exist. We show that a large group of terminals can quickly form a new and efficient collision-free transmission schedule