Layer net: A new self-organizing network protocol

A protocol is proposed for the generation and operation of a self-organizing multihop radio network, which is capable of creating its own topology and transmission schedules dynamically and in a distributed manner. The protocol commences operation in a random-access mode of operation and then gradually switches over to a synchronous schedules mode of operation. The protocol was simulated up to the end of the scheduling phase. This included the generation of node positions, tree formation, addition of links and the scheduling of these links. The percentage increase in average hop distance between nodes in the generated network over the fully connected network (the network with all possible links between physical neighbors) was found to vary between 10% to 15%. Empirically, it appears that a schedule length that is twice the maximum degree is sufficient to allow the distributed generation of a conflict-free schedule.