An Algorithm Suite for Minimizing the Number of Hops between Communication Peers in a Bluetooth Scatternet

Mobility, and the fact that nodes may change their communication peers in time, generate permanently changing traffic flows in a Bluetooth scatternet. Thus, forming an optimal scatternet for a given traffic pattern may be not enough, rather a scatternet that best supports traffic flows as they vary in time is required. In this article we propose an algorithm suite that enables us to modify the nodes’ links and roles. Periodically executing these algorithms helps maintaining the distance (measured in hops weighted with the corresponding traffic intensity) between every source-destination pair at a minimum. This will allow for higher network throughput, lower packet delivery delay and nodes’ energy consumption, and reduced communication overhead.