Enabling adaptive frequency agility by a body area network medium access control protocol

• Main Author: PATEL MAULIN D
• Format: Patent
• Language: Chinese; English
• Published: 07.05.2014
• Subjects: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION ANDCOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THIR OWNENERGY USE; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINSTCLIMATE CHANGE; WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

Adaptive frequency agility in a body area network (BAN) is enabled by a medium access control protocol by adaptively snooping channels of a frequency band utilized in the BAN. The method includes selecting an anchor channel to be scanned from a rank order list of channels (S520); periodically scanning, at a predefined snoop time interval, the anchor channel for duration of a dwell time set for the anchor channel (S535); periodically scanning all channels preceding the anchor channel in the rank order list, wherein each preceding channel is being scanned for a different predefined duration; checking if a message is received on the anchor channel or any of the preceding channels (S570); selecting a channel ranked immediately after the anchor channel in the rank order list to be a new anchor channel when a message is not received (S540, S545) for a duration of a dwell time set for the anchor channel; and determining the channel on which a message is received to be the new anchor channel (S580).