221 research outputs found
On the Computational Power of Radio Channels
Radio networks can be a challenging platform for which to develop distributed algorithms, because the network nodes must contend for a shared channel. In some cases, though, the shared medium is an advantage rather than a disadvantage: for example, many radio network algorithms cleverly use the shared channel to approximate the degree of a node, or estimate the contention. In this paper we ask how far the inherent power of a shared radio channel goes, and whether it can efficiently compute "classicaly hard" functions such as Majority, Approximate Sum, and Parity.
Using techniques from circuit complexity, we show that in many cases, the answer is "no". We show that simple radio channels, such as the beeping model or the channel with collision-detection, can be approximated by a low-degree polynomial, which makes them subject to known lower bounds on functions such as Parity and Majority; we obtain round lower bounds of the form Omega(n^{delta}) on these functions, for delta in (0,1). Next, we use the technique of random restrictions, used to prove AC^0 lower bounds, to prove a tight lower bound of Omega(1/epsilon^2) on computing a (1 +/- epsilon)-approximation to the sum of the nodes\u27 inputs. Our techniques are general, and apply to many types of radio channels studied in the literature
Approximate Neighbor Counting in Radio Networks
For many distributed algorithms, neighborhood size is an important parameter. In radio networks, however, obtaining this information can be difficult due to ad hoc deployments and communication that occurs on a collision-prone shared channel. This paper conducts a comprehensive survey of the approximate neighbor counting problem, which requires nodes to obtain a constant factor approximation of the size of their network neighborhood. We produce new lower and upper bounds for three main variations of this problem in the radio network model: (a) the network is single-hop and every node must obtain an estimate of its neighborhood size; (b) the network is multi-hop and only a designated node must obtain an estimate of its neighborhood size; and (c) the network is multi-hop and every node must obtain an estimate of its neighborhood size. In studying these problem variations, we consider solutions with and without collision detection, and with both constant and high success probability. Some of our results are extensions of existing strategies, while others require technical innovations. We argue this collection of results provides insight into the nature of this well-motivated problem (including how it differs from related symmetry breaking tasks in radio networks), and provides a useful toolbox for algorithm designers tackling higher level problems that might benefit from neighborhood size estimates
Deterministic Digital Clustering of Wireless Ad Hoc Networks
We consider deterministic distributed communication in wireless ad hoc
networks of identical weak devices under the SINR model without predefined
infrastructure. Most algorithmic results in this model rely on various
additional features or capabilities, e.g., randomization, access to geographic
coordinates, power control, carrier sensing with various precision of
measurements, and/or interference cancellation. We study a pure scenario, when
no such properties are available. As a general tool, we develop a deterministic
distributed clustering algorithm. Our solution relies on a new type of
combinatorial structures (selectors), which might be of independent interest.
Using the clustering, we develop a deterministic distributed local broadcast
algorithm accomplishing this task in rounds, where
is the density of the network. To the best of our knowledge, this is
the first solution in pure scenario which is only polylog away from the
universal lower bound , valid also for scenarios with
randomization and other features. Therefore, none of these features
substantially helps in performing the local broadcast task. Using clustering,
we also build a deterministic global broadcast algorithm that terminates within
rounds, where is the diameter of the
network. This result is complemented by a lower bound , where is the path-loss parameter of the
environment. This lower bound shows that randomization or knowledge of own
location substantially help (by a factor polynomial in ) in the global
broadcast. Therefore, unlike in the case of local broadcast, some additional
model features may help in global broadcast
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