摘要 |
A hybrid TDMA-CSMA MAC protocol is provided for allocating time slots within a frame having a structure in which transmission time is divided into a first number of actual TDMA time slots and a second number of "virtual" CSMA time slots. Each of the nodes in a multi-hop network can transmit a Highest Slot Number (HSN) field. Each time one of the Hello messages is received from a neighbor node, a given node can calculate variables based on the HSN field. The given node can use these variables to calculate a ratio of the first number to the second number. This ratio can be dynamically adjusted depending upon the traffic conditions observed by nodes within the multi-hop ad hoc network at any particular time to thereby change the relative percentages of the frame which are allocated for a TDMA portion and a CSMA portion of the frame.
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