Fast multipole networks

Two prerequisites for robotic multiagent systems are mobility and communication. Fast multipole networks (FMNs) enable both ends within a unified framework. FMNs can be organized very efficiently in a distributed way from local information and are ideally suited for motion planning using artificial potentials. We compare FMNs to conventional communication topologies, and find that FMNs offer competitive communication performance (including higher network efficiency per edge at marginal energy cost) in addition to advantages for mobility

Genetic algorithms with elitism-based immigrants for dynamic shortest path problem in mobile ad hoc networks

This article is posted here with permission from the IEEE - Copyright @ 2009 IEEEIn recent years, the static shortest path (SP) problem has been well addressed using intelligent optimization techniques, e.g., artificial neural networks (ANNs), genetic algorithms (GAs), particle swarm optimization (PSO), etc. However, with the advancement in wireless communications, more and more mobile wireless networks appear, e.g., mobile ad hoc network (MANET), wireless sensor network (WSN), etc. One of the most important characteristics in mobile wireless networks is the topology dynamics, that is, the network topology changes over time due to energy conservation or node mobility. Therefore, the SP problem turns out to be a dynamic optimization problem (DOP) in MANETs. In this paper, we propose to use elitism-based immigrants GA (EIGA) to solve the dynamic SP problem in MANETs. We consider MANETs as target systems because they represent new generation wireless networks. The experimental results show that the EIGA can quickly adapt to the environmental changes (i.e., the network topology change) and produce good solutions after each change.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/1

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/

Multi-population genetic algorithms with immigrants scheme for dynamic shortest path routing problems in mobile ad hoc networks

Copyright @ Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010.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 ad hoc network (MANET), wireless mesh network, etc. One of the most important characteristics in mobile wireless networks is the topology dynamics, that is, the network topology changes over time due to energy conservation or node mobility. Therefore, the SP problem turns out to be a dynamic optimization problem in mobile wireless networks. In this paper, we propose to use multi-population GAs with immigrants scheme to solve the dynamic SP problem in MANETs which is the representative of new generation wireless networks. The experimental results show that the proposed GAs can quickly adapt to the environmental changes (i.e., the network topology change) and produce good solutions after each change.This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council(EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/1

A robot swarm assisting a human fire-fighter

Emergencies in industrial warehouses are a major concern for fire-fighters. The large dimensions, together with the development of dense smoke that drastically reduces visibility, represent major challenges. The GUARDIANS robot swarm is designed to assist fire-fighters in searching a large warehouse. In this paper we discuss the technology developed for a swarm of robots assisting fire-fighters. We explain the swarming algorithms that provide the functionality by which the robots react to and follow humans while no communication is required. Next we discuss the wireless communication system, which is a so-called mobile ad-hoc network. The communication network provides also the means to locate the robots and humans. Thus, the robot swarm is able to provide guidance information to the humans. Together with the fire-fighters we explored how the robot swarm should feed information back to the human fire-fighter. We have designed and experimented with interfaces for presenting swarm-based information to human beings

Securing autonomous networks through virtual closure

The increasing autonomy of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) has enabled a great many large-scale unguided missions, such as agricultural planning, conservation and similar surveying tasks. Commercial and military institutions have expressed great interest in such ventures, raising the question of security as the application of such systems in potentially hostile environments. Preventing theft, disruption or destruction of such MANETs through cyber-attacks has become a focus for many researchers as a result. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have been shown to enhance the security of Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). VPNs do not normally support broadcast communication, reducing their effectiveness in high-traffic MANETs which have many broadcast communication requirements. To support routing, broadcast updates and efficient MANET communication a Virtual Closed Network (VCN) architecture is proposed. By supporting private, secure communication in unicast, multicast and broadcast modes, VCNs provide an efficient alternative to VPNs when securing MANETs. Comparative analysis of the set-up and security overheads of VCN and VPN approaches is provided between OpenVPN, IPsec, Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), and the proposed VCN solution: Security Using Pre-Existing Routing for MANETs (SUPERMAN)