Social relationship based routing for delay tolerant Bluetooth-enabled PSN communications

PhDOpportunistic networking is a concept derived from the mobile ad hoc networking in which devices have no prior knowledge of routes to the intended destinations. Content dissemination in opportunistic networks thus is carried out in a store and forward fashion. Opportunistic routing poses distinct challenges compared to the traditional networks such as Internet and mobile ad hoc networks where nodes have prior knowledge of the routes to the intended destinations. Information dissemination in opportunistic networks requires dealing with intermittent connectivity, variable delays, short connection durations and dynamic topology. Addressing these challenges becomes a significant motivation for developing novel applications and protocols for information dissemination in opportunistic networks. This research looks at opportunistic networking, specifically at networks composed of mobile devices or, pocket switched networks. Mobile devices are now accepted as an integral part of society and are often equipped with Bluetooth capabilities that allow for opportunistic information sharing between devices. The ad hoc nature of opportunistic networks means nodes have no advance routing knowledge and this is key challenge. Human social relationships are based on certain patterns that can be exploited to make opportunistic routing decisions. Targeting nodes that evidence high popularity or high influence can enable more efficient content dissemination. Based on this observation, a novel impact based neighbourhood algorithm called Lobby Influence is presented. The algorithm is tested against two previously proposed algorithms and proves better in terms of message delivery and delay. Moreover, unlike other social based algorithms, which have a tendency to concentrate traffic through their identified routing nodes, the new algorithm provides a fairer load distribution, thus alleviating the tendency to saturate individual nodes

Analysis and operational challenges of dynamic ride sharing demand responsive transportation models

There is a wide body of evidence that suggests sustainable mobility is not only a technological question, but that automotive technology will be a part of the solution in becoming a necessary albeit insufficient condition. Sufficiency is emerging as a paradigm shift from car ownership to vehicle usage, which is a consequence of socio-economic changes. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) now make it possible for a user to access a mobility service to go anywhere at any time. Among the many emerging mobility services, Multiple Passenger Ridesharing and its variants look the most promising. However, challenges arise in implementing these systems while accounting specifically for time dependencies and time windows that reflect users’ needs, specifically in terms of real-time fleet dispatching and dynamic route calculation. On the other hand, we must consider the feasibility and impact analysis of the many factors influencing the behavior of the system – as, for example, service demand, the size of the service fleet, the capacity of the shared vehicles and whether the time window requirements are soft or tight. This paper analyzes - a Decision Support System that computes solutions with ad hoc heuristics applied to variants of Pick Up and Delivery Problems with Time Windows, as well as to Feasibility and Profitability criteria rooted in Dynamic Insertion Heuristics. To evaluate the applications, a Simulation Framework is proposed. It is based on a microscopic simulation model that emulates real-time traffic conditions and a real traffic information system. It also interacts with the Decision Support System by feeding it with the required data for making decisions in the simulation that emulate the behavior of the shared fleet. The proposed simulation framework has been implemented in a model of Barcelona’s Central Business District. The obtained results prove the potential feasibility of the mobility concept.Postprint (published version

Social-aware Forwarding in Opportunistic Wireless Networks: Content Awareness or Obliviousness?

With the current host-based Internet architecture, networking faces limitations in dynamic scenarios, due mostly to host mobility. The ICN paradigm mitigates such problems by releasing the need to have an end-to-end transport session established during the life time of the data transfer. Moreover, the ICN concept solves the mismatch between the Internet architecture and the way users would like to use it: currently a user needs to know the topological location of the hosts involved in the communication when he/she just wants to get the data, independently of its location. Most of the research efforts aim to come up with a stable ICN architecture in fixed networks, with few examples in ad-hoc and vehicular networks. However, the Internet is becoming more pervasive with powerful personal mobile devices that allow users to form dynamic networks in which content may be exchanged at all times and with low cost. Such pervasive wireless networks suffer with different levels of disruption given user mobility, physical obstacles, lack of cooperation, intermittent connectivity, among others. This paper discusses the combination of content knowledge (e.g., type and interested parties) and social awareness within opportunistic networking as to drive the deployment of ICN solutions in disruptive networking scenarios. With this goal in mind, we go over few examples of social-aware content-based opportunistic networking proposals that consider social awareness to allow content dissemination independently of the level of network disruption. To show how much content knowledge can improve social-based solutions, we illustrate by means of simulation some content-oblivious/oriented proposals in scenarios based on synthetic mobility patterns and real human traces.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure