An ACO Algorithm for Effective Cluster Head Selection

This paper presents an effective algorithm for selecting cluster heads in mobile ad hoc networks using ant colony optimization. A cluster in an ad hoc network consists of a cluster head and cluster members which are at one hop away from the cluster head. The cluster head allocates the resources to its cluster members. Clustering in MANET is done to reduce the communication overhead and thereby increase the network performance. A MANET can have many clusters in it. This paper presents an algorithm which is a combination of the four main clustering schemes- the ID based clustering, connectivity based, probability based and the weighted approach. An Ant colony optimization based approach is used to minimize the number of clusters in MANET. This can also be considered as a minimum dominating set problem in graph theory. The algorithm considers various parameters like the number of nodes, the transmission range etc. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is an effective methodology for finding out the minimum number of cluster heads.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, International Journal of Advances in Information Technology (JAIT); ISSN: 1798-2340; Academy Publishers, Finlan

A New Scheme for Minimizing Malicious Behavior of Mobile Nodes in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

The performance of Mobile Ad hoc networks (MANET) depends on the cooperation of all active nodes. However, supporting a MANET is a cost-intensive activity for a mobile node. From a single mobile node perspective, the detection of routes as well as forwarding packets consume local CPU time, memory, network-bandwidth, and last but not least energy. We believe that this is one of the main factors that strongly motivate a mobile node to deny packet forwarding for others, while at the same time use their services to deliver its own data. This behavior of an independent mobile node is commonly known as misbehaving or selfishness. A vast amount of research has already been done for minimizing malicious behavior of mobile nodes. However, most of them focused on the methods/techniques/algorithms to remove such nodes from the MANET. We believe that the frequent elimination of such miss-behaving nodes never allowed a free and faster growth of MANET. This paper provides a critical analysis of the recent research wok and its impact on the overall performance of a MANET. In this paper, we clarify some of the misconceptions in the understating of selfishness and miss-behavior of nodes. Moreover, we propose a mathematical model that based on the time division technique to minimize the malicious behavior of mobile nodes by avoiding unnecessary elimination of bad nodes. Our proposed approach not only improves the resource sharing but also creates a consistent trust and cooperation (CTC) environment among the mobile nodes. The simulation results demonstrate the success of the proposed approach that significantly minimizes the malicious nodes and consequently maximizes the overall throughput of MANET than other well known schemes.Comment: 10 pages IEEE format, International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, IJCSIS July 2009, ISSN 1947 5500, Impact Factor 0.42

Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks - OMCO NET

The mini conference “Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks” focuses on advanced methods for search and optimisation applied to wireless communication networks. It is sponsored by Research & Enterprise Fund Southampton Solent University. The conference strives to widen knowledge on advanced search methods capable of optimisation of wireless communications networks. The aim is to provide a forum for exchange of recent knowledge, new ideas and trends in this progressive and challenging area. The conference will popularise new successful approaches on resolving hard tasks such as minimisation of transmit power, cooperative and optimal routing

Genetic algorithms with immigrants and memory schemes for dynamic shortest path routing problems in mobile ad hoc networks

This article is posted here with permission of IEEE - Copyright @ 2010 IEEEIn recent years, the static shortest path (SP) problem has been well addressed using intelligent optimization techniques, e.g., artificial neural networks, genetic algorithms (GAs), particle swarm optimization, etc. However, with the advancement in wireless communications, more and more mobile wireless networks appear, e.g., mobile networks [mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs)], wireless sensor networks, etc. One of the most important characteristics in mobile wireless networks is the topology dynamics, i.e., the network topology changes over time due to energy conservation or node mobility. Therefore, the SP routing problem in MANETs turns out to be a dynamic optimization problem. In this paper, we propose to use GAs with immigrants and memory schemes to solve the dynamic SP routing problem in MANETs. We consider MANETs as target systems because they represent new-generation wireless networks. The experimental results show that these immigrants and memory-based GAs can quickly adapt to environmental changes (i.e., the network topology changes) and produce high-quality solutions after each change.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council of U.K. underGrant EP/E060722/

A two‐step authentication framework for Mobile ad hoc networks

The lack of fixed infrastructure in ad hoc networks causes nodes to rely more heavily on peer nodes for communication. Nevertheless, establishing trust in such a distributed environment is very difficult, since it is not straightforward for a node to determine if its peer nodes can be trusted. An additional concern in such an environment is with whether a peer node is merely relaying a message or if it is the originator of the message. In this paper, we propose an authentication approach for protecting nodes in mobile ad hoc networks. The security requirements for protecting data link and network layers are identified and the design criteria for creating secure ad hoc networks using several authentication protocols are analyzed. Protocols based on zero knowledge and challenge response techniques are presented and their performance is evaluated through analysis and simulation

Robotic Wireless Sensor Networks

In this chapter, we present a literature survey of an emerging, cutting-edge, and multi-disciplinary field of research at the intersection of Robotics and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) which we refer to as Robotic Wireless Sensor Networks (RWSN). We define a RWSN as an autonomous networked multi-robot system that aims to achieve certain sensing goals while meeting and maintaining certain communication performance requirements, through cooperative control, learning and adaptation. While both of the component areas, i.e., Robotics and WSN, are very well-known and well-explored, there exist a whole set of new opportunities and research directions at the intersection of these two fields which are relatively or even completely unexplored. One such example would be the use of a set of robotic routers to set up a temporary communication path between a sender and a receiver that uses the controlled mobility to the advantage of packet routing. We find that there exist only a limited number of articles to be directly categorized as RWSN related works whereas there exist a range of articles in the robotics and the WSN literature that are also relevant to this new field of research. To connect the dots, we first identify the core problems and research trends related to RWSN such as connectivity, localization, routing, and robust flow of information. Next, we classify the existing research on RWSN as well as the relevant state-of-the-arts from robotics and WSN community according to the problems and trends identified in the first step. Lastly, we analyze what is missing in the existing literature, and identify topics that require more research attention in the future