Generating a frequency hopping arrangement for a communication session involving a group of devices

An apparatus comprising:

• at least one processing device comprising a processor coupled to a memory;
• the at least one processing device being configured:
• to determine a starting frequency channel for a frequency hopping arrangement to be used in a communication session by a group of devices based at least in part on a random start offset value and frequency channel spacing information;
• to calculate a number of useable frequency channels between the starting frequency channel and a stopping frequency channel for the frequency hopping arrangement;
• to calculate a frequency channel step value based at least in part on a predetermined required minimum number of frequency channels;
• to select the frequency channel values to be used in the communication session by the group of devices by iterating through frequency channel values for the useable frequency channels between the starting frequency channel and the stopping frequency channel at intervals of a random frequency channel selection offset value;
• and
• to establish the frequency hopping arrangement based at least in part on the selected frequency channel values.

A system comprising:

• a communications network;
• and
• multiple processing devices in a group, wherein a first of the multiple processing devices is configured to:
• generate a random start offset value for a frequency hopping arrangement to be used in a communication session by the group of processing devices;
• output, via the communications network, the random start offset value to the other processing devices in the group;
• generate a random frequency channel selection offset value, wherein the random frequency channel selection offset value is not a divisor of a number of useable frequency channels between a starting frequency channel and a stopping frequency channel;
• output, via the communications network, the random frequency channel selection offset value to the other processing devices in the group;
• calculate a frequency channel value for each of multiple useable frequency channels between the starting frequency channel and the stopping frequency channel based at least in part on the starting frequency channel and the number of useable frequency channels;
• and
• output, via the communications network, the calculated frequency channel value for each of the useable frequency channels to the other processing devices in the group;
• and wherein each of the multiple processing devices is configured to:
• determine the starting frequency channel based at least in part on the random start offset value and frequency channel spacing information;
• calculate a frequency channel step value based at least in part on a predetermined required minimum number of frequency channels;
• select the frequency channel values to be used in the communication session by the group of processing devices by iterating through the frequency channel values for the useable frequency channels between the starting frequency channel and the stopping frequency channel at intervals of the random frequency channel selection offset value;
• and
• establish the frequency hopping arrangement based at least in part on the selected frequency channel values.