  Mobile devices have become a popular tool for ubiquitous learning in recent
years. Multiple mobile users can be connected via ad hoc networks for the
purpose of learning. In this context, due to limited battery capacity, energy
efficiency of mobile devices becomes a very important factor that remarkably
affects the user experience of mobile learning. Based on the artificial bee
colony (ABC) algorithm, we propose a new clustering protocol, namely BeeCup, to
save the energy of mobile devices while guaranteeing the quality of learning.
The BeeCup protocol takes advantage of biologically-inspired computation, with
focus on improving the energy efficiency of mobile devices. It first estimates
the number of cluster heads (CHs) adaptively according to the network scale,
and then selects the CHs by employing the ABC algorithm. In case some CHs
consume energy excessively, clusters will be dynamically updated to keep energy
consumption balanced within the whole network. Simulation results demonstrate
the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed protocol.
