Abstract: A first beacon slot is selected by a wireless communications device in a repeating time interval. Accordingly, beacons of the wireless communications device are transmitted during the first beacon slot. However, when an announcement of the first beacon slot selection of step is not received from a remote device within a predetermined amount of time, a second beacon slot is selected. Upon this selection, beacons of the wireless communications device are transmitted during the second beacon slot instead of the first beacon slot.

Abstract: A method of coordinating devices in a wireless network is provided. First capability data associated with a first type of power source and a first state of the power source of a first device is received at a second device. Second capability data is transmitted to the first device from the second device. The second capability data is associated with a second type of power source and a second state of the power source of the second device. The first capability data is compared with the second capability data at the second device. If the comparison indicates the first capability data is less desirable than the second capability data, the second capability data is transmitted again to the first device from the second device. If the comparison indicates the first capability data is more desirable than the second capability data, the first capability data is received again from the first device at the second device.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product are disclosed for passively sensing with a hot spot wireless device, a presence of beacon messages from any other wireless devices within a coverage area, ignoring active beacon group merging operations, allowing a mobile wireless device to join in the beacon group, within the coverage area and exchanging beacon messages with the mobile wireless device, actively sensing by exchanging a sequence of test frames with the mobile wireless device using a plurality of modes supported by both the mobile wireless device and the hot spot wireless device, and exchanging data with the mobile wireless device after the actively sensing step.

Abstract: A method is provided for specifying a transmission mode for each signal portion of a multi-carrier signal transmitted between a first and second device. The method includes defining an adaptive modulation and coding set divided into a plurality of subsets, each of the plurality of subsets including a plurality of transmission modes for transmitting a signal portion. The method further includes selecting a transmission mode subset from the plurality of subsets for transmission of the multi-carrier signal from a first to a second device, selecting a signal portion transmission mode for each signal portion from the plurality of transmission modes of the selected transmission mode subset, defining semantic bits that indicate the selected transmission mode subset, defining an indicator bit for each signal portion indicating the selected sub-carrier transmission mode, and transmitting the semantic bits and the indicator bit for each signal portion from a first to a second device.

Abstract: A system for implementing a communication transports in a configuration that may utilize control plane resources for the conveyance of data. A communication protocol may be originally designed to support planned data conveyance at a data plane. This strategy may improve quality of service for the transport, but may impact the execution speed of communication due to the required overhead involved in scheduling. In view of this limitation, messages that are sensitive to delay may be negatively impacted by scheduling steps occurring in mediums such as described above. Execution speed may be increased by routing certain payloads to the control plane for transmission in a beacon signal, which avoids the overhead inherent in the data plane.

Abstract: A method, system, and computer program product are disclosed for providing a forwarding feature in the WiMedia MAC communication protocol or in other suitable communication protocols. The method enables a forwarder device to indicate its capability to operate as a forwarder device in its beacon transmissions and to enable an initiating device to utilize the forwarder device for communicating data and/or network control information to destination devices that can be accessed through the forwarder device over two or more hops.

Abstract: A method of coordinating devices in a wireless network is provided. First capability data associated with a first type of power source and a first state of the power source of a first device is received at a second device. Second capability data is transmitted to the first device from the second device. The second capability data is associated with a second type of power source and a second state of the power source of the second device. The first capability data is compared with the second capability data at the second device. If the comparison indicates the first capability data is less desirable than the second capability data, the second capability data is transmitted again to the first device from the second device. If the comparison indicates the first capability data is more desirable than the second capability data, the first capability data is received again from the first device at the second device.

Abstract: A control strategy and/or method by which (1) a network device may reduce energy consumption though the use of lower-rate mode(s) without affecting spectrum opportunities for other network devices, which may as a result increase energy efficiency in a networked device; and (2) a network device may reduce unnecessary use of higher-rate mode(s) to allow other devices to access the common medium, which may increase usage fairness amongst devices and overall network robustness.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques for spatial reuse in wireless communications networks. Accordingly, the present invention provides A device participates in a wireless communications network. The network has a shared transmission medium for the exchange of communications traffic. Further, the device determines a value for at least one interference condition in the shared transmission medium of the wireless communications network. Based on this value, a planned transmission to a remote wireless communications device is scheduled. For instance, when this value is less than a predetermined threshold, this scheduling employs a time-overlapping access technique.

Abstract: A wireless communications device detects a change in its residual energy status, and transmits the residual energy status across a wireless communications network to a remote device that coordinates communications in the wireless communications network. For example, the remote device may be a piconet coordinator (PNC) in an IEEE 802.15.3 network, or a master device in a Bluetooth network. A wireless communications device that coordinates communications in a wireless communications network (the coordinator) transmits one or more first handover commands to one or more remote devices upon the occurrence of a triggering event. Based on responses to these first commands, the coordinator selects a remote device for coordinating future communications in the wireless communications network.

Abstract: Various embodiments are described relating to sharing scanning operations among nodes in a wireless network, such as a WiMedia ultra-wideband (UWB) network. In an example embodiment, a message may be sent from a sending node to one or more receiving nodes requesting the receiving nodes to reduce transmissions on a wireless medium. The sending node and the receiving nodes may be included in a distributed wireless network. In an example embodiment, the wireless medium may be scanned at the sending node to determine whether the one or more receiving nodes are participating in the distributed wireless network by periodically transmitting beacons during a repeated interval, wherein the scanning may be performed periodically, aperiodically, or continuously.

Abstract: A device participates in a wireless communications network having a coordinator device that is responsible for allocating resources in the wireless communications network. Further, the device establishes a peer-to-peer connection with a remote device in the wireless communications network. This peer-to-peer connection is based on a reservation of resources from the coordinator device, wherein the reservation has one or more timing parameters. Upon detecting a disappearance of the coordinator device from the wireless communications network, communications with the remote device continues according to the one or more timing parameters of the peer-to-peer connection.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques for spatial reuse in wireless communications networks. Accordingly, the present invention provides A device participates in a wireless communications network. The network has a shared transmission medium for the exchange of communications traffic. Further, the device determines a value for at least one interference condition in the shared transmission medium of the wireless communications network. Based on this value, a planned transmission to a remote wireless communications device is scheduled. For instance, when this value is less than a predetermined threshold, this scheduling employs a time-overlapping access technique.

Abstract: A first beacon slot is selected by a wireless communications device in a repeating time interval. Accordingly, beacons of the wireless communications device are transmitted during the first beacon slot. However, when an announcement of the first beacon slot selection of step is not received from a remote device within a predetermined amount of time, a second beacon slot is selected. Upon this selection, beacons of the wireless communications device are transmitted during the second beacon slot instead of the first beacon slot.

Abstract: A method is provided for specifying a transmission mode for each signal portion of a multi-carrier signal transmitted between a first device and a second device. The method includes defining an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) set divided into a plurality of subsets wherein each of the plurality of subsets includes a plurality of transmission modes for transmission of a signal portion.

Abstract: A wireless communications device detects a change in its residual energy status, and transmits the residual energy status across a wireless communications network to a remote device that coordinates communications in the wireless communications network. For example, the remote device may be a piconet coordinator (PNC) in an IEEE 802.15.3 network, or a master device in a Bluetooth network. A wireless communications device that coordinates communications in a wireless communications network (the coordinator) transmits one or more first handover commands to one or more remote devices upon the occurrence of a triggering event. Based on responses to these first commands, the coordinator selects a remote device for coordinating future communications in the wireless communications network.

Abstract: A method is provided for specifying a transmission mode for each signal portion of a multi-carrier signal transmitted between a first and second device. The method includes defining an adaptive modulation and coding set divided into a plurality of subsets, each of the plurality of subsets including a plurality of transmission modes for transmitting a signal portion. The method further includes selecting a transmission mode subset from the plurality of subsets for transmission of the multi-carrier signal from a first to a second device, selecting a signal portion transmission mode for each signal portion from the plurality of transmission modes of the selected transmission mode subset, defining semantic bits that indicate the selected transmission mode subset, defining an indicator bit for each signal portion indicating the selected sub-carrier transmission mode, and transmitting the semantic bits and the indicator bit for each signal portion from a first to a second device.