USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Gam D Nguyen

Anthony Ephremides

Clement Kam

Sastry Kompella

Jeffrey E Wieselthier

Systems and method are provided for controlling the age of information, or information freshness, for remote status updating through the use of a packet deadline. In an embodiment, a packet deadline determines how long a packet is allowed to wait in a queue at the source before being transmitted, and, if the deadline expires, it is dropped from the system and never transmitted. This mechanism can control the flow of packets into the system, which can be used to control and optimize the age of information, thus providing a fresh status at a monitor.

Packet deadlines in a queue to control the age of information

A Group TDMA multiple destination, multiple node wireless network includes a first destination having a first group of nodes (Group) in communication range and a second destination having a second group of nodes (Group) in communication range. A third group of nodes (Group) are within communication range of both first and second destinations. Each group of nodes is assigned a periodically recurring set of time slots for transmitting to a designated destination. A network processor is programmed for (a) dividing the frame into a number of fixed-length time slots; (b) assigning a fraction 1&#x2212;x of the time slots to the first and second groups of nodes; (c) assigning a fraction x of the time slots to the third group; (d) subdividing the third group into a fourth group of nodes and a fifth group of nodes; (e) assigning a fraction y of the fraction x time slots to the fourth group for transmission to the first destination and a fraction 1&#x2212;y of the fraction x time slots to the fifth group for transmission to the second destination; (f) applying a multiple-access protocol to each group in its assigned set of time slots; and (g) optimizing the values of x and y in order to realize the maximum possible value of stable throughput rate &#x3bb;*. Group TDMA provides increased throughput capacity as it provides a balance between scheduled access and pure random access. Nodes may be grouped according to geographical location as well as arbitrary criteria, such as priority or node mission.

Growing community of inventors

Alexandria, VA, United States of America

Gam D Nguyen