Dynamic inhibition areas for accurately solving the shortest link scheduling problem

We present a novel distributed algorithm, called Dynamic Inhibition Area Link Scheduling (DIA-LS), which efficiently solves the Shortest Link Schedule (SLS) problem in wireless ad-hoc networks. The schedule length is reduced by maximizing the spatial reusability, which is the number of simultaneous transmissions per unit area, obtaining a dense feasible transmission pattern at each time slot. Most algorithms in the literature assume binary or protocol interference models and are based on uniformly partitioning the network deployment area. It leads to inaccurate interference management, making algorithms behave in an overly conservative way. In contrast, the proposed DIA-LS algorithm is based on the formation of individual inhibition areas around every potential receiver node. These inhibition areas are generated according to the physical interference model, providing a more accurate interference management. We first show a constant O(1) approximation bound to the optimal link schedule and demonstrate that our DIA-LS algorithm outperforms the GOW* and the ML²S algorithms, present in the literature.