Routing method, transceiver station and computer program for carrying out the method

1. A routing method in a network having a set of communication nodes, for establishing a route from at least one source node to a destination node, comprising:

/a/ broadcasting a request from the destination node;

/b/ in response to reception of the request at an intermediate node, examining whether the request has been received beforehand by said intermediate node;

/c/ on condition that the request has not been received beforehand by said intermediate node, systematically rebroadcasting the request from said intermediate node, with a delay that is a function of a routing metric associated with said intermediate node; and

/d/ repeating steps /b/ and /c/ until the at least one source node is reached.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the delay determined at an intermediate node is independent of the request to be rebroadcast.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the routing metric associated with an intermediate node depends on an estimated residual energy capacity of said intermediate node.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the delay is a convex decreasing function of the estimated residual energy capacity.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the routing metric associated with an intermediate node depends on a bandwidth available to said intermediate node.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein, in response to reception of the request at an intermediate node which has not received the request beforehand, an address of the node from which the request has been received by said intermediate node is stored in relation with the request in a routing table held at said intermediate node.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the request comprises a routing field for containing a chain of node addresses of the network, and wherein, in response to reception the request at an intermediate node which has not received the request beforehand, an address of said intermediate node is added to the chain of addresses of said field before rebroadcasting the request in step /c/.

8. A transceiver station for forming a node of a telecommunications network, the station comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a request coming from another node of the network and initially arising from a destination node;

a processor configured to determine a delay as a function of a routing metric associated with the station; and

a transmitter configured to systematically rebroadcast the request with said delay on the network on condition that the request has not been received beforehand and that the transceiver station is not identified as a source node in said request.

9. A routing device for a node of a telecommunications network, comprising:

a processor configured to determine a delay as a function of a routing metric associated with the node; and

a controller configured to systematically instruct rebroadcasting on the network, with said delay, of a request received from another node of the network and initially arising from a destination node, on condition that the request has not been received beforehand and that the routing device is not identified as a source node in said request.

10. A non-transient computer readable medium storing a computer program for execution by a transceiver station forming a node of a telecommunications network, the program comprising steps for:

on receipt by the station of a request coming from another node of the network and initially arising from a destination node, examining whether the request has been received beforehand by the station;

obtaining a delay determined as a function of a routing metric associated with the station; and

if the request has not been received beforehand by the station and if the station is not identified as a source node by said request, systematically instructing rebroadcasting of the request on the network with said delay.