System and method of utilizing virtual ants in small world infrastructure communication networks

• US 20050083858A1
• Filed: 10/07/2004
• Published: 04/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kanchei Loa, Michael Sugino
• Original Assignee: Kanchei Loa, Michael Sugino
• Inventors: Sugino, Michael, Loa, Kanchei
• Application Number:
  US10/960,882
• Publication Number:
  US 20050083858A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/254
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/08 Learning-based routing, e.g. using neural networks or artificial intelligence

Abstract

A small world infrastructure network of communication units, a plurality of which are stigmergic-capable nodes that are capable of generating and supporting virtual ants. A virtual ant can carry information relating to a node, such as its identification and sequence information, and can be sent by the node to one or more neighboring nodes to establish, recursively, hierarchical forwarding paths. A virtual ant interacts with a node through alteration of the table entries of the destination node receiving the virtual ant.

Claims

1. A small world infrastructure (SWI) network, comprising

a) a plurality of communication units (CUs) comprising stigmergic capable nodes (SCNs);

b) a plurality of links interconnecting said plurality of communication units (CUs); and

c) means, at each one of said stigmergic capable nodes, for generating a virtual ant (VA) and for forwarding the virtual ant to at least one other stigmergic capable node to establish, recursively, a hierarchical forwarding path (HFP) between the one and the other stigmergic capable nodes.

2. A small world infrastructure according to claim 1, wherein said means for generating and forwarding can send the virtual ant to a single neighboring stigmergic capable node.

3. A small world infrastructure according to claim 1, wherein said means for generating and forwarding can send the virtual ant to multiple neighboring stigmergic capable nodes.

4. A small world infrastructure according to claim 2, wherein the single neighboring node can receive the virtual ant and terminate the virtual ant.

5. A small world infrastructure according to claim 2, wherein the single neighboring node can receive the virtual ant and forward the received virtual ant to another single neighboring stigmergic capable node.

6. A small world infrastructure according to claim 2, wherein the single neighboring stigmergic capable node can receive the virtual ant and forward the virtual ant to multiple other neighboring stigmergic capable nodes.

7. A small world infrastructure according to claim 1, wherein said stigmergic capable nodes comprise a first node for generating and sending the virtual ant, a second node for receiving and resending the virtual ant, and a third node for receiving the virtual ant from the second node and establishing a hierarchical forwarding path to the first node and through the second node.

8. A small world infrastructure according to claim 7, wherein said stigmergic capable nodes comprise a fourth neighboring node, and said third node is capable of optimizing the hierarchical forwarding path to the first node through the fourth node and bypassing the third node.

9. A small world infrastructure according to claim 7, wherein the third node is capable of modifying the content of the received virtual ant.

10. A small world infrastructure according to claim 7, wherein the third node is capable of deleting the hierarchical forwarding path to the first node.

11. A small world infrastructure according to claim 7, wherein the third node is capable of deleting the hierarchical forwarding path to the first node if the virtual ant is not received by the third node for a period of time.

12. A small world infrastructure according to claim 1, wherein a stigmergic capable node may undertake a given action as determined by the content of the virtual ant.

13. A small world infrastructure according to claim 1, wherein a stigmergic capable node may undertake an action based on the internal state and policy of the node.