Patent ID: 8532072

Claim:
In a wireless network having a plurality of nodes, including a beacon node, a method comprising: determining, at each node, whether to replace the beacon node; if a node determines that the beacon node is to be replaced, determining whether the node should nominate itself as a potential replacement beacon node, wherein determining whether the node should nominate itself is a function of a probability value associated with the node; if the node determines that it should nominate itself as a potential replacement beacon node, sending out one or more beacon signals; receiving beacon signals from other nodes that have nominated themselves as potential replacement beacon nodes; and selecting the replacement beacon node, wherein selecting includes: determining, at each potential replacement beacon node, whether the potential replacement beacon node has received a beacon signal from a higher ranking potential replacement beacon node; and if the potential replacement beacon node has received a beacon signal from a higher ranking potential replacement beacon node, removing itself as a candidate for the replacement beacon node; wherein each node adaptively modifies the probability of nominating itself as a function of the number of beacon signals received from other nodes; and wherein determining whether the node should nominate itself as a potential replacement beacon node includes generating a random number at the node and comparing the random number to a threshold value, wherein the threshold value is adaptively modified to favor nomination of nodes close to the center of the network and disfavor nodes away from the center of the network.