Distributed scheduling in multi-hop multi-band cognitive radio networks utilizing potential fields

A novel distributed scheduling method for minimizing packet routing delays in multi-hop multi-band cognitive radio networks is proposed. The proposed scheduling method exploits spectral awareness in the form of spatial potential fields that characterize sources of interference as repulsive forces and packet destinations as attractive forces. The proposed scheduling protocol operates in four phases, during which the secondary users exchange control information with their 1-hop neighbors. Extensive computer simulations in both static and dynamic environments are presented. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared against its centralized counterpart as well as a distributed scheme using exponential backoff. The proposed method offers an excellent tradeoff between complexity and performance and is very suitable for large mobile cognitive networks.