Method and apparatus for operating a node within a mobile ad hoc cognitive radio network

1. A method of operation of a node within a mobile ad hoc cognitive radio network, the method comprising:

sensing at least one communications channel including measuring a value of at least one parameter corresponding to the communications channel;

comparing the measured value of the at least one parameter with a set of stored values of the at least one parameter based on a geolocation database calculations to determine a of change in the measured values, wherein the geolocation database calculations comprise computing geolocation database predicted values of incumbent signal strengths per unit location; and

activating a sleep mode of the node for a time period, wherein the time period is determined using the change in the measured values.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 , the method further comprising:

adding a result of the geolocation database calculations to the set of stored values;

tracking a historical rate of change using the set of stored values; and

transmitting the measured value to one or more neighboring nodes within the mobile ad hoc cognitive radio network in response to the historical rate of change exceeding a threshold.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein:

the node operates in a no-communication state during the sleep mode;

the node operates in a sensing only state during the sensing step; and

the node operates in a full operation state during the transmitting step.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the sensing only state comprises a semi-sleep mode of the node.

5. A method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the sensing only state comprises a low-power mode of the node.

6. A method as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the full operation state comprises an active transceiver mode of the node.

7. The method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the threshold level is dynamically determined.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting the measured value to one or more neighboring nodes in response to the change comprising at least a threshold level.

9. A method as claimed in claim 8 , wherein:

the node operates in a no-communication state during the sleep mode,

the node operates in a sensing only state during the sensing step, and

the node operates in a full operation state during the transmitting step.

10. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

storing a result of the geolocation database calculations of the at least one parameter along with a time stamp.

11. A method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:

deactivating the sleep mode after the time period.

12. A method as claimed in claim 11 , further comprising:

establishing a wake-up schedule for the node prior to the sensing step;

changing the wake-up schedule based on the change in the measured values, wherein the wake-up schedule identifies the time period for the sleep mode.

13. A method as claimed in claim 11 , further comprising:

performing the sensing, comparing, and activating steps again after the deactivating step.

14. A method as claimed in claim 11 , wherein at least one other node operates on the communication channel, the method further comprising:

assigning the at least one other node to transmit information corresponding to the communication channel to the node after the deactivating step.

15. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the sensing step comprises:

partially sensing the communication channel for partially measuring value of the at least one parameter; and

completely sensing the communication channel depending on at least one of the set of stored values and the partially measured value of the at least one parameter.

16. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the time period comprises an integer multiple of a base sleep duration.

17. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the node operates on a plurality of communication channels, the method further comprising:

performing the sensing step for each of the plurality of communication channels; and

identifying an operating channel of the plurality of communication channels for operation of the node by comparing the measured values.

18. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the time period is further determined using one or more out of band information.

19. A method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one parameter comprises one or more parameters selected from a group comprising a noise floor, a quality of service, a network performance, and a neighboring node sensing metric.

20. A method of operating a node within a mobile cognitive adhoc network, the node operating on at least one communication channel, the method comprising:

establishing a wake up schedule based on a random start time and a node density representing a quantity of nodes of the mobile cognitive adhoc network;

performing sensing measurements of each of the communication channels when the node awakens based on the wake up schedule;

comparing the sensing measurement with a geolocation database predicted value of each of the communication channels measured;

increasing the rate of sensing measurements when the difference between the sensing measurement and the geolocation database predicted value exceeds a threshold;

reporting the sensing measurement to at least one other node when the difference between the sensing measurement and the geolocation database predicted value exceeds the threshold; and

sleeping based on the wake up schedule.

21. A node within a mobile ad hoc cognitive radio network, the node comprising:

a spectral sensing module configured to:

sense at least one communication channel; and

measure a value of at least one parameter corresponding to the at least one communication channel;

a memory for storing a set of stored values of the at least one parameter; and

a processor configured to:

compare the measured value of the at least one parameter with the set of stored values of the at least one parameter based on a geolocation database calculations to determine a change in the measured values, wherein the geolocation database calculations comprise computing geolocation database predicted values of incumbent signal strengths per unit location; and

activate a sleep mode of the node for a time period, wherein the time period is determined using the change in the measured values.

22. The node as claimed in claim 21 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

add a result of the geolocation database calculations to the set of stored values; and

track a historical rate of change using the set of stored values.

23. The node as claimed in claim 21 further comprising:

a transceiver configured to transmit the measured value to at least one neighboring node in response to the change between the measured value and the geolocation database predicted values exceeding a threshold.