Continuum Equilibria and Global Optimization for Routing in Dense Static Ad Hoc Networks

We consider massively dense ad hoc networks and study their continuum limits as the node density increases and as the graph providing the available routes becomes a continuous area with location and congestion dependent costs. We study both the global optimal solution as well as the non-cooperative routing problem among a large population of users where each user seeks a path from its origin to its destination so as to minimize its individual cost. Finally, we seek for a (continuum version of the) Wardrop equilibrium. We first show how to derive meaningful cost models as a function of the scaling properties of the capacity of the network and of the density of nodes. We present various solution methodologies for the problem: (1) the viscosity solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation, for the global optimization problem, (2) a method based on Green's Theorem for the least cost problem of an individual, and (3) a solution of the Wardrop equilibrium problem using a transformation into an equivalent global optimization problem

Energy-efficient Routing Model Based on Vector Field Theory for Large-scale Wireless Sensor Networks

Routing design is a key issue for large-scale wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Energy consumption associated with allocated resources should be considered. This paper proposes the integration of an energy-efficient model, which is based on vector field theory, in large-scale WSNs. Source nodes in WSNs have the characteristics of source points in a vector field, whereas sink nodes could be characterized as gathering points. Our scheme demonstrates that we can solve a set of partial differential equations in electrostatic theory to determine the routes that result in energy efficiency. Thus, the routing problem in WSN for energy efficiency becomes a typical PDE solution. Our simulation results show significant improvement in energy consumption. Compared with the traditional shortest path approach, the proposed model shows considerable improvement in the lifetime of the network

A reliable and resource aware framework for data dissemination in wireless sensor networks

Distinctive from traditional wireless ad hoc networks, wireless sensor networks (WSN) comprise a large number of low-cost miniaturized nodes each acting autonomously and equipped with short-range wireless communication mechanism, limited memory, processing power, and a physical sensing capability. Since sensor networks are resource constrained in terms of power, bandwidth and computational capability, an optimal system design radically changes the performance of the sensor network. Here, a comprehensive information dissemination scheme for wireless sensor networks is performed. Two main research issues are considered: (1) a collaborative flow of information packet/s from the source to sink and (2) energy efficiency of the sensor nodes and the entire system. For the first issue, we designed and evaluated a reactive and on-demand routing paradigm for distributed sensing applications. We name this scheme as IDLF-Information Dissemination via Label ForwarDing IDLF incorporates point to point data transmission where the source initiates the routing scheme and disseminates the information toward the sink (destination) node. Prior to transmission of actual data packet/s, a data tunnel is formed followed by the source node issuing small label information to its neighbors locally. These labels are in turn disseminated in the network. By using small size labels, IDLF avoids generation of unnecessary network traffic and transmission of duplicate packets to nodes. To study the impact of node failures and to improve the reliability of the network, we developed another scheme which is an extension to IDLF. This new scheme, RM-IDLF - Reliable Multipath Information dissemination by Label Forwarding, employ an alternate disjoint path. This alternate path scheme (RM-IDLF) may have a higher path cost in terms of energy consumption, but is more reliable in terms of data packet delivery to sink than the single path scheme (IDLF). In the latter scheme, the protocol establishes multiple (alternate) disjoint path/s from source to destination with negligible control overhead to balance load due to heavy data traffic among intermediate nodes from source to the destination. Another point of interest in this framework is the study of trade-offs between the achieved routing reliability using multiple disjoint path routing and extra energy consumption due to the use of additional path/s. Also, the effect of the failed nodes on the network performance is evaluated within the sensor system; Performance of the label dissemination scheme is evaluated and compared with the classic flooding and SPIN. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

A scalable data dissemination protocol for both highway and urban vehicular environments

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) enable the timely broadcast dissemination of event-driven messages to interested vehicles. Especially when dealing with broadcast communication, data dissemination protocols must achieve a high degree of scalability due to frequent deviations in the network density. In dense networks, suppression techniques are designed to prevent the so-called broadcast storm problem. In sparse networks, protocols incorporate store-carry-forward mechanisms to take advantage of the mobility of vehicles to store and relay messages until a new opportunity for dissemination emerges. Despite numerous efforts, most related works focus on either highway or urban scenarios, but not both. Highways are mostly addressed with a single directional dissemination. For urban scenarios, protocols mostly concentrate on either using infrastructure or developing methods for selecting vehicles to perform the store-carry-forward task. In both cases, dense networks are dealt with suppression techniques that are not optimal for multi-directional dissemination. To fill this gap, we present an infrastructure-less protocol that combines a generalized time slot scheme based on directional sectors and a store-carry-forward algorithm to support multi-directional data dissemination. By means of simulations, we show that our protocol scales properly in various network densities in both realistic highway and urban scenarios. Most importantly, it outperforms state-of-the-art protocols in terms of delivery ratio, end-to-end delay, and number of transmissions. Compared to these solutions, our protocol presents up to seven times lower number of transmissions in dense highway scenarios

\A Ro- bust Node Selection Strategy for Lifetime Extension in Wireless Sensor Networks

Distributed Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) consist of energy-constrained sensor nodes that may be deployed in large numbers in order to monitor a given area, track military targets, detect civilian targets or for other purposes. In such densely deployed environments, multiple transmissions can lead to collisions resulting in packet losses and network congestion. This can increase latency and reduce energy efficiency. These networks also feature significant redundancy since nodes close to each other often sense similar data. Therefore, it may be adequate to employ only a subset of the deployed nodes at any given time in the network. In this thesis, node subsets are selected in a manner that coverage and connectivity are consistently achieved. The working subsets are changed after predetermined durations. A framework using concepts from spatial statistics is developed as an approach to selecting the subset of sensor nodes. Proximal nodes negotiate with each other using energy information, to decide which nodes stay working while others go to sleep mode. The algorithm is executed autonomously by the network. The approach presented ensures that the selected subsets while not necessarily exclusive of previous selections covers the region of interest. Simulation results show that the algorithm is robust and retains some level of redundancy. The algorithm shows significant improvement in energy consumption compared with a network with no selection. The selected subset is shown to be able to withstand significant levels of fault in the network. Conclusions regarding the flexibility and application scenarios of the algorithm are drawn and opportunities for future work indicated

DESIGN OF EFFICIENT IN-NETWORK DATA PROCESSING AND DISSEMINATION FOR VANETS

By providing vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless communications, vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), also known as the “networks on wheels”, can greatly enhance traffic safety, traffic efficiency and driving experience for intelligent transportation system (ITS). However, the unique features of VANETs, such as high mobility and uneven distribution of vehicular nodes, impose critical challenges of high efficiency and reliability for the implementation of VANETs. This dissertation is motivated by the great application potentials of VANETs in the design of efficient in-network data processing and dissemination. Considering the significance of message aggregation, data dissemination and data collection, this dissertation research targets at enhancing the traffic safety and traffic efficiency, as well as developing novel commercial applications, based on VANETs, following four aspects: 1) accurate and efficient message aggregation to detect on-road safety relevant events, 2) reliable data dissemination to reliably notify remote vehicles, 3) efficient and reliable spatial data collection from vehicular sensors, and 4) novel promising applications to exploit the commercial potentials of VANETs. Specifically, to enable cooperative detection of safety relevant events on the roads, the structure-less message aggregation (SLMA) scheme is proposed to improve communication efficiency and message accuracy. The scheme of relative position based message dissemination (RPB-MD) is proposed to reliably and efficiently disseminate messages to all intended vehicles in the zone-of-relevance in varying traffic density. Due to numerous vehicular sensor data available based on VANETs, the scheme of compressive sampling based data collection (CS-DC) is proposed to efficiently collect the spatial relevance data in a large scale, especially in the dense traffic. In addition, with novel and efficient solutions proposed for the application specific issues of data dissemination and data collection, several appealing value-added applications for VANETs are developed to exploit the commercial potentials of VANETs, namely general purpose automatic survey (GPAS), VANET-based ambient ad dissemination (VAAD) and VANET based vehicle performance monitoring and analysis (VehicleView). Thus, by improving the efficiency and reliability in in-network data processing and dissemination, including message aggregation, data dissemination and data collection, together with the development of novel promising applications, this dissertation will help push VANETs further to the stage of massive deployment

Improved Handover Through Dual Connectivity in 5G mmWave Mobile Networks

The millimeter wave (mmWave) bands offer the possibility of orders of magnitude greater throughput for fifth generation (5G) cellular systems. However, since mmWave signals are highly susceptible to blockage, channel quality on any one mmWave link can be extremely intermittent. This paper implements a novel dual connectivity protocol that enables mobile user equipment (UE) devices to maintain physical layer connections to 4G and 5G cells simultaneously. A novel uplink control signaling system combined with a local coordinator enables rapid path switching in the event of failures on any one link. This paper provides the first comprehensive end-to-end evaluation of handover mechanisms in mmWave cellular systems. The simulation framework includes detailed measurement-based channel models to realistically capture spatial dynamics of blocking events, as well as the full details of MAC, RLC and transport protocols. Compared to conventional handover mechanisms, the study reveals significant benefits of the proposed method under several metrics.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, to appear on the 2017 IEEE JSAC Special Issue on Millimeter Wave Communications for Future Mobile Network