Fast and adaptive scheduling in ad hoc networks

In several applications of ad hoc networks an effective scheduling algorithm is needed. A schedule is needed to agree in which order the neighbouring nodes of an ad hoc network perform a certain operation. The schedule can be formed by solving the graph vertex colouring problem. To solve the graph colouring problem in the environment of ad hoc networks is complicated because an ad hoc network is dynamic and only local information can be used. In this paper a graph colouring algorithm is proposed that meets the requirements of an ad hoc network. The algorithm consists of two parts. The first part uses a greedy approach to find a suboptimal solution and the second part is a self-organizing part that optimizes the schedule and adapts with the changing environment. The proposed algorithm is fast and also fail-safe because of its simplicity in the origin.