Patent ID: 7876706

Claim:
A method for dynamically selecting a new root node in an ad hoc network comprising a current root node and a plurality of nodes, the method comprising: nominating at each of the plurality of nodes a candidate root node by comparing an aggregate weighted value for that particular node to a low threshold (T L ) and a high threshold (T H ), and deciding at each of the plurality of nodes whether to nominate itself as the candidate root node depending on its relative likelihood of being selected as the new root node; transmitting, from each of the plurality of nodes, a first status message associated with its nominated candidate root node when the aggregate weighted value for that particular node exceeds the high threshold (T H ); receiving the first status messages at the current root node; and selecting, at the current root node, the new root node from at least one of the candidate root nodes and the current root node based on the received first status messages.