Control apparatus to divide other communication apparatuses into multiple groups for slots allocated

Abstract

A communication control apparatus that performs wireless communication with a plurality of communication apparatuses, the communication control apparatus comprises: a grouping unit adapted to group the plurality of communication apparatuses based on the relative positions of each of the plurality of communication apparatuses; a notification unit adapted to notify each of the plurality of communication apparatuses of the group to which that communication apparatus belongs and of a communication slot allocated to that group; and a transmission unit adapted to transmit transmission data at a predetermined timing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A control apparatus that performs communication with a plurality of communication apparatuses including a first communication apparatus, a second communication apparatus, and a third communication apparatus, the control apparatus comprising:
 an allocation unit configured to allocate:
 a first communication slot for the first, second, and third communication apparatuses to receive first data directly transmitted from a data source, 
 a second communication slot for the second and third communication apparatuses to receive second data transmitted from the first communication apparatus, the second data being obtained by performing a relay transmission of the first data in the first communication apparatus, and 
 a third communication slot for the third communication apparatus to receive third data transmitted from the second communication apparatus, the data being obtained by performing maximum likelihood processing based on the first data transmitted from the data source in the first communication slot, the second data transmitted from the first communication apparatus in the second communication slot, and the third data transmitted from the second communication apparatus in the third communication slot; and 
   a notification unit configured to notify at least the first, the second, and the third communication apparatuses of the communication slots allocated by the allocation unit.   
     
     
         2 . The control apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a determination unit configured to determine a relative position of each communication apparatus of the plurality of communication apparatuses,   wherein the allocation unit allocates communication slots based on the relative position of each communication apparatus of the plurality of communication apparatuses as determined by the determination unit.   
     
     
         3 . The control apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the allocation unit allocates communication slots in order from a communication apparatus positioned nearest to the control apparatus to a communication apparatus positioned farthest from the control apparatus.   
     
     
         4 . The control apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a dividing unit configured to divide the plurality of communication apparatuses into a plurality of groups,   wherein a quantity of groups is configured to be represented by a number,   wherein the allocation unit allocates a communication slot during which communication apparatus of a group transmits data to other communication apparatus of another group, and   wherein the allocation unit does not allocate a communication slot to the group positioned farthest from the control apparatus when the number of groups is three or more.   
     
     
         5 . The control apparatus according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein data includes data of each communication apparatus of the plurality of communication apparatuses.   
     
     
         6 . The control apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a transmission unit configured to transmit data to the plurality of communication apparatuses at a predetermined communication slot.   
     
     
         7 . The control apparatus according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein the determination unit determines the relative position of each communication apparatus of the plurality of communication apparatuses based on a strength of a transmitted signal, on a transmission delay of an acoustic signal or an ultrasonic signal from the communication apparatus, or on an imaging result by an optical imaging unit.   
     
     
         8 . A communication apparatus, comprising:
 a receiving unit configured to receive data in the course of a first communication slot, a second communication slot, and a third communication slot,
 wherein, in the course of the first communication slot, the receiving unit receives first data, which is directly transmitted from a first other communication apparatus to the communication apparatus, 
 wherein, in the course of the second communication slot, the receiving unit receives second data, which is obtained by performing a relay transmission of the first data in a second other communication apparatus, and 
 wherein, in the course of the third communication slot, the receiving unit receives third data from a third other communication apparatus, the third data being obtained by performing maximum likelihood processing based on the first data transmitted in the first communication slot and the second data transmitted in the second communication slot; and 
   a first maximum likelihood processing unit configured to perform maximum likelihood processing based on the first data received in the course of the first communication slot, the second data received in the course of the second communication slot, and the third data received in the course of the third communication slot.   
     
     
         9 . The communication apparatus according to  claim 8 ,
 wherein the receiving unit performs communication using Time Division Multiple Access, Code Division Multiple Access, Frequency Division Multiple Access, and/or Space Division Multiple Access techniques.   
     
     
         10 . The communication apparatus according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a control unit configured, in response to a request from a control apparatus in a communication system to which the communication apparatus belongs, to generate information for estimating a distance to another communication apparatus based on communication with that another communication apparatus and to control transmission of that information to the control apparatus.   
     
     
         11 . A communication system, comprising:
 a plurality of communication apparatuses including a first communication apparatus, a second communication apparatus, and a third communication apparatus;   a control apparatus including:
 an allocation unit configured to allocate:
 a first communication slot for the first, second, and third communication apparatuses to receive first data directly transmitted from a data source, 
 a second communication slot for the second and third communication apparatuses to receive second data transmitted from the first communication apparatus, the second data being obtained by performing a relay transmission of the first data in the first communication apparatus, 
 a third communication slot for the third communication apparatus to receive third data transmitted from the second communication apparatus, the data being obtained by performing maximum likelihood processing based on the first data transmitted from the data source in the first communication slot and the second data transmitted from the first communication apparatus in the second communication slot; and 
 
 a notification unit configured to notify at least the first, second, and third communication apparatuses of the communication slots allocated by the allocation unit, 
   wherein each of the plurality of communication apparatuses includes:
 a receiving unit configured to receive a plurality of the data in the course of the first, second, and third communication slots, and a maximum likelihood processing unit configured to perform maximum likelihood processing based on the first data received in the course of the first communication slot, the second data received in the course of the second communication slot, and the third data received in the course of the third communication slot. 
   
     
     
         12 . A control method for a control apparatus that performs communication with a plurality of communication apparatuses including a first communication apparatus, a second communication apparatus, and a third communication apparatus, the control method comprising:
 allocating:
 a first communication slot for the first, second, and third communication apparatuses to receive first data directly transmitted from a data source, 
 a second communication slot for the second and third communication apparatuses to receive second data transmitted from the first communication apparatus, the second data being obtained by performing a relay transmission of the first data in the first communication apparatus, and 
 a third communication slot for the third communication apparatus to receive third data transmitted from the second communication apparatus, the data being obtained by performing maximum likelihood processing based on the first data transmitted from the data source in the first communication slot, the second data transmitted from the first communication apparatus in the second communication slot, and the third data transmitted from the second communication apparatus in the third communication slot; and 
   notifying at least the first, second, and third communication apparatuses of the communication slots.   
     
     
         13 . A control method for a communication apparatus, the control method comprising:
 receiving data in a course of a first communication slot, a second communication slot, and a third communication slot,   wherein, in the course of the first communication slot, first data is received, which is directly transmitted from a first other communication apparatus to the communication apparatus,   wherein, in the course of the second communication slot, second data is received, which is obtained by performing a relay transmission of the first data in a second other communication apparatus, and   wherein, in the course of the third communication slot, third data is received, which is obtained by performing a maximum likelihood processing based on the first data transmitted in the first communication slot and the second data transmitted in the second communication slot; and   performing maximum likelihood processing based on the first data received in the course of the first communication slot, the second data received in the course of the second communication slot, and the third data received in the course of the third communication slot.   
     
     
         14 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a program that, when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform the control method according to  claim 12 . 
     
     
         15 . The control apparatus according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein the transmission unit transmits the data using Time Division Multiple Access, Code Division Multiple Access, Frequency Division Multiple Access, and/or Space Division Multiple Access techniques.   
     
     
         16 . The control apparatus according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein the notification unit uses a first modulation scheme and the transmission unit use a second modulation scheme that is different from the first modulation scheme.   
     
     
         17 . The communication apparatus according to  claim 8 , further comprising:
 an acquisition unit configured to acquire a communication slot, which is allocated to that communication apparatus, and during which that communication apparatus transmits the data; and   a transmission unit configured to transmit the data, on which the maximum likelihood processing has been performed by the maximum likelihood processing unit, to other communication apparatuses, during the communication slot that is allocated to that communication apparatus.   
     
     
         18 . The communication apparatus according to  claim 17 , wherein the acquisition unit further acquires a group to which that communication apparatus belongs. 
     
     
         19 . The control apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the data source is the control apparatus.