Spectrum-adaptive networking

A method for managing interference in a radio communications network, comprising the steps of:

• receiving at a first node in the radio communications network an instruction transmitted from a second node in the radio communications network to avoid using a plurality of frequencies to transmit to the second node;
• filtering a transmission signal to remove power from the transmission signal at each frequency in the plurality of frequencies;
• and
• transmitting the transmission signal to the second node.

A method of managing interference in a radio communications network, the radio communications network having a multiplicity of nodes, each node in the multiplicity having attached thereto a set of antennas, each antenna in the set being oriented in a unique direction relative to other antennas attached to each the node, the method comprising the steps of:

• dividing the multiplicity of nodes into a plurality of node clusters;
• assigning a unique receiving frequency to each node in at least one node cluster;
• assigning a unique transmission frequency to each antenna in the set of antennas attached to a first node in the at least one node cluster;
• wherein the unique transmission frequency assigned to the each antenna corresponds to the unique receiving frequency assigned to a neighboring node in the at least one node cluster;
• and
• wherein the neighboring node is located in the unique direction in which each the antenna is oriented to face.

A radio communications device, comprising:

• a receiver configured to receive an aggregated radio signal;
• a spectrum analyzer, coupled to the receiver, configured to produce a series of power readings for the aggregated radio signal for each frequency in a plurality of frequencies;
• a waveform profile generator configured to produce a waveform profile based on the series of power readings and a power limit, wherein the waveform profile defines a set of unacceptable transmission frequencies;
• and
• a filter, coupled to the receiver, configured to detect in the aggregate radio signal a transmission signal addressed to the radio communications device, and to discard any portion of the transmission signal carried on a frequency corresponding to an unacceptable transmission frequency in the set of unacceptable transmission frequencies.

A method for managing co-site interference in a wireless network having a multiplicity of nodes, comprising the steps of:

• identifying a subset of nodes within the multiplicity of nodes, wherein each node in the subset is capable of transmitting data to each other node in the subset in accordance with a connectivity threshold and using a power setting that falls within a low power range;
• defining a collection of transmission frequencies to be used by nodes of the subset only when transmitting to a node outside of the subset;
• and
• permitting only one member of the subset at a time to transmit using any transmission frequency within the collection.

A method for managing congestion at an elevated node in a wireless network having a multiplicity of nodes, comprising the steps of:

• identifying a subset of nodes within the multiplicity of nodes, each node in the subset being capable of transmitting data to each other node in the subset in accordance with a connectivity threshold and using a power setting that falls within a low power range;
• defining a collection of transmission frequencies to be used by nodes of the subset only when transmitting to the elevated node;
• and
• permitting only one member of the subset at a time to transmit using any transmission frequency within the collection.

A wireless network, comprising:

• a plurality of short-range links;
• a multiplicity of nodes configured to
• automatically identify a cluster of nodes within the multiplicity capable of transmitting data to each other node in the cluster via the plurality of short-range links using a power setting that falls within a low power range, and
• select a node in the cluster to act as a long-range transmission manager, wherein the long-range transmission manager is configured to permit only one member of the cluster at a time to transmit using any power setting that falls outside the low power range.

A radio communications device for a wireless network having a multiplicity of other radio communications devices, comprising:

• a transmitter configured to send data to any other radio communications device in the multiplicity using a power setting that falls within a low power range;
• and
• a media access controller configured to receive a plurality of requests from the multiplicity of other radio communications devices to transmit using a power setting that falls within a high-power range;
• wherein the media access controller is configured to grant only one request in the plurality of requests at a time.

In a wireless communications network comprising a multiplicity of nodes and configured to transmit a data stream along a route from a source node in the network to a destination node in the network according to a routing protocol, a method of managing real-time data traffic, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving at an intermediate node in the route a data packet from the data stream and a request to transmit the data packet to a next node in the route;
• determining whether the next node is operating in a receiving mode;
• if the next node is operating in the receiving mode, transmitting the data packet to the next node;
• and
• if the next node is not operating in the receiving mode, forwarding the data packet to any other node in the multiplicity of nodes that is both in the receiving mode and nearer to the destination node than the intermediate node.