Abstract: A method of operating a touchless user interface on an electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device is configured to determine information regarding the position and/or movement of an input object. The method has the steps of: deciding that an engagement gesture has been performed; deciding that a related input gesture has been performed; and carrying out an operation on the device on the basis of the input gesture only if the engagement gesture has been recognized and if the input gesture is one of a subset of possible input gestures determined by the engagement gesture.

Abstract: A method of operating a touchless user interface on an electronic device is disclosed. The electronic device is configured to determine information regarding the position and/or movement of an input object. The method has the steps of: deciding that an engagement gesture has been performed; deciding that a related input gesture has been performed; and carrying out an operation on the device on the basis of the input gesture only if the engagement gesture has been recognized and if the input gesture is one of a subset of possible input gestures determined by the engagement gesture.

Abstract: A system and method for determining the mobility of a node (102) in a wireless communication network (102). The system and method determine the distance between the node (102) and at least one stationary neighboring node (102, 106, 107) at at least two or more time points, using at least two moving average filters, to arrive at two distance values. The system and method then determine the relative velocity based on the at least two distance values, and thus determine whether the node (102) is mobile.

Abstract: A system and method for management of communication links between nodes in a wireless communication network (100). The system and method perform the operations of estimating an expected rate of change in the characteristics pertaining to communication over a communication link in the network (100), and assigning a value associated with the link based on the expected rate of change. The system and method also adjust the rate of change of the value associated with the link based on the condition of the link.

Abstract: A method for distributed call admission control in a wireless network includes the steps of: initiating a communication call within the wireless network; computing a resource metric at each of a plurality of nodes along a communication route of the wireless network, wherein each of the resource metrics is representative of a network dynamic; distributing the resource metrics along a communication route to at least one call admission control point within the wireless network; and performing a call admission process for the communication call at the at least one call admission control point using the resource metrics.

Abstract: A technique for improving the capability of measuring the distance between nodes of a wireless communication network is provided. Technique (800) includes receiving a measured signal, correlating the measured signal with a reference signal to output a measured correlated function, comparing the correlation function to a predetermined reference correlation function, the reference correlation function being based on a predetermined direct path sequence and an estimation of the phase delay of the measured correlated function. A score is assigned to the measured correlation function based on how close the measured correlation function resembles the predetermined reference correlation function. Technique (800) provides improved location accuracy, even in multipath environments, by indicating the quality of the TOA measurement and enabling the selection of a correction mechanism.

Abstract: A communication network (600) includes a first communication device (102-1) and at least one other communication device (102-3), wherein the first communication device (102-1) and the at least one other communication device (102-3) are proximately located. The communication network further includes a transaction detector (625) coupled between the first communication device (102-1) and the at least one other communication device (102-3) for detecting one or more transactions intended for each of the proximately located communication devices. The communication network (600) further includes a bandwidth allocator (610) adapted to impede communication activity for a predetermined time for the at least one other proximately located communication devices (102-3), and activate communication activity for the predetermined time for the first communication device (102-1) in response to the transaction detector (625) detecting a transaction intended for the first communication device (102-1).

Abstract: A system and method for performing topology control in a wireless network (100). The system and method operate to enable a node (102-1) to determine the link cost of a link between itself and another node (102-2), based on the number of nodes (102, 106, 107) that would be affected by message transmission by the node (102) and the other node (102-2), and the number of nodes (102, 106, 107) that would be affected by message reception by the node (102-1) and the other node (102-2). The number of nodes (102, 106, 107) affected by the message transmission and message reception at the node (102-1) and the other node (102-2) is affected by the transmit power of the control messages sent by the node (102-1) and the other node (102-2). The node (102-1) further bases routing decisions on the calculated link costs.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and apparatus to estimate link performance in a packetized communication network (100). The method includes identifying one or more system parameters (240) of the packetized communication network (100); obtaining one or more transaction feedback (235) of one or more packetized communications within a communication link (110, 120) of the packetized communication network (100); and estimating performance of the communication link using the identified system parameters (240) and obtained transaction feedback (235).

Abstract: A method for controlling packet transmission power by a node in a wireless communication network, the method comprising: determining respective values for a number of sample data rates collected; determining a target data rate, wherein the target data rate is a weighted average of the respective values; and adjusting packet transmission power based on a result of a comparison of an average data rate in current traffic and channel conditions to the target data rate.

Abstract: A system and method for determining the mobility of a node (102) in a wireless communication network (102). The system and method determine the distance between the node (102) and at least one stationary neighboring node (102, 106, 107) at at least two or more time points, using at least two moving average filters, to arrive at two distance values. The system and method then determine the relative velocity based on the at least two distance values, and thus determine whether the node (102) is mobile.

Abstract: A system and method for management of communication links between nodes in a wireless communication network (100). The system and method perform the operations of estimating an expected rate of change in the characteristics pertaining to communication over a communication link in the network (100), and assigning a value associated with the link based on the expected rate of change. The system and method also adjust the rate of change of the value associated with the link based on the condition of the link.

Abstract: A system and method for providing adaptive threshold selection for detecting a signal in the presence of interference or noise. The system and method thus enables a node, such as a mobile user terminal, in an ad-hoc communications network to reduce the number of false alarms it experiences in the detection of communications signals due to, for example, sudden noise bursts or reception of a high powered signal that overloads the automatic gain control (AGC) device of the receiver in the node. The system and method employ two correlation circuits which correlate the received signal with two reference sequences and output a correlated signal, a threshold generating circuit which generates a threshold value based on the estimation of the variance of the output of the first correlation circuit, and a comparison circuit which compares the correlated signal to the threshold value to determine whether the received signal includes a valid data signal, as opposed to only noise.

Abstract: A system and method for improved Time Of Arrival (TOA) distance measurements between nodes of a wireless ad-hoc network. Specifically, the present invention is a system and method of distance estimation using square-root raised-cosine pulse shaping and chip matched filters on direct sequence spreading waveforms, the multiplication of which produces raised-cosine filtered pulse responses. The responses are used to identify a time when a function is at a maximum, corresponding to the actual signal reception time. The system and method produces a raised-cosine filtered pulse response and an auto-correlation function based on a received signal. A peak value of the auto-correlation function is calculated based on a quadratic approximation, which is corrected using a signal sampling phase offset detected between the raised-cosine filtered pulse response and the calculated peak value. The calculated peak value is then corrected to represent an actual reception time for received signals.

Abstract: A system and method for calculating a routing metric that can select the route providing the best throughput in a multihopping network (100), based on one or more parameters including completion rates, data rates, MAC overhead and congestion. The system and method are capable of selecting a route in a multihopping network (100) having a high throughput, comprising calculating a routing metric at one or more nodes (102, 106, 107), wherein the routing metric enables the one or more nodes (102, 106, 107) to select the route in the network (100). The routing metric can include network information such as the raw data rate, the completion rate, and the media access control overhead and congestion.

Abstract: The present invention provides a system and method for evaluating the performance of a potential route before it is actually established. In a wireless network, when a trigger is received by a source node that suggests the existence of a better route, the source node sends a scouting packet along the suggested route. The scouting packet collects statistics related to the suggested route, without establishing the route while the scouting packet traverses the route. The metric for the suggested route, which is derived from the statistics collected by the scouting packet, is compared to the metric for the current route. If the metric for the suggested route is preferable to that of the current route, the suggested route is established as a new route.

Abstract: A system and method for avoiding collisions between packets transmitted in a wireless network (100). A first node (102, 106 or 107) in the wireless network (100) can transmit a packet to a second node (102, 106 or 107) in the wireless network (100), such that packet includes a header that is transmitted with a higher processing gain than the data, therefore, may be received and processed by a third node (102, 106 or 107. This allows the third node (102, 106 or 107) to detect the transmission of a packet by the first node (102, 106 or 107), which can cause the third node (102, 106 or 107) to avoid transmission of a packet during the transmission by the first node (102, 106 or 107) to avoid collision between the packets. The system and method further enables the nodes (102, 106 or 107) to determine whether they can transmit to another node (102, 106 or 107) based on estimates of interference conditions that can be experienced due to the presence of other nodes (102, 106 or 107).

Abstract: A system and method that creates an abstraction of the physical layer of a wireless communication network (100), in particular, a wireless ad-hoc peer-to-peer communication network (100), and that normalizes the feedback from the physical layer to enable multiple types of nodes (102, 106, 107) in the wireless network to operate using a common wireless routing protocol. This routing protocol uses a link quality metric to determine the best route regardless of how it actually chooses the route or disseminates such link quality information. The generalized routing metric can be derived for any node (102, 106, 107), regardless of its relative performance or its media access control (MAC) technology. The system and method also create a transaction summary that can be used for link adaptation and link quality estimation to determine, for example, future data rates, link quality/routing metrics, and transmit powers.

Abstract: A system and method for dynamic rate adaptation in wireless networks is presented. A dynamic adjustment scheme adapts quickly to channel variation characteristics where adjustment values depend on the target data packet completion rates that maximizes the effective throughput. The required information is an estimate of the Medium Access Controller overhead including channel access delay. This a priori information can also be measured by the system a posteriori. Although the invention can be applied to both cellular and non-cellular systems, the exemplary embodiment is given for a carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) network.