Extensions to the pseudo-random class of energy-conserving access protocols

A myriad of applications such as radio frequency identification (RFID) and smart card networks are emerging in which nodes are designed for extremely low cost, large scale applications such that the replacement of batteries is not feasible. Energy conservation therefore becomes a major constraint. Classical access protocols are either not energy conserving or lead to unacceptable delays. In a previous work (I. Chlamtac et al., 1996), we proposed three new classes of energy conserving access protocols designed to minimize delay while drastically reducing the energy required at the mobile node. We propose an extension to one of those protocols which greatly reduces the worst case delay experienced by the packets.