Speed-Aware Routing for UAV Ad-Hoc Networks

In this paper we examine mobile ad-hoc networks (MANET) composed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Due to the high-mobility of the nodes, these networks are very dynamic and the existing routing protocols partly fail to provide a reliable communication. We present Predictive-OLSR an extension to the Optimized Link-State Routing (OLSR) protocol: it enables efficient routing in very dynamic conditions. The key idea is to exploit GPS information to aid the routing protocol. Predictive-OLSR weights the expected transmission count (ETX) metric, taking into account the relative speed between the nodes. We provide numerical results obtained by a MAC-layer emulator that integrates a flight simulator to reproduce realistic flight conditions. These numerical results show that Predictive-OLSR significantly outperforms OLSR and BABEL, providing a reliable communication even in very dynamic conditions.Comment: submitted to GlobeCom'13 Workshop - Wi-UA

Dynamic Routing for Flying Ad Hoc Networks

This paper reports experimental results on self-organizing wireless networks carried by small flying robots. Flying ad hoc networks (FANETs) composed of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are flexible, inexpensive and fast to deploy. This makes them a very attractive technology for many civilian and military applications. Due to the high mobility of the nodes, maintaining a communication link between the UAVs is a challenging task. The topology of these networks is more dynamic than that of typical mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) and of typical vehicle ad hoc networks (VANETs). As a consequence, the existing routing protocols designed for MANETs partly fail in tracking network topology changes. In this work, we compare two different routing algorithms for ad hoc networks: optimized link-state routing (OLSR), and predictive-OLSR (P-OLSR). The latter is an OLSR extension that we designed for FANETs; it takes advantage of the GPS information available on board. To the best of our knowledge, P-OLSR is currently the only FANET-specific routing technique that has an available Linux implementation. We present results obtained by both Media Access Control (MAC) layer emulations and real-world experiments. In the experiments, we used a testbed composed of two autonomous fixed-wing UAVs and a node on the ground. Our experiments evaluate the link performance and the communication range, as well as the routing performance. Our emulation and experimental results show that P-OLSR significantly outperforms OLSR in routing in the presence of frequent network topology changes

Models and Protocols for Resource Optimization in Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless mesh networks are built on a mix of fixed and mobile nodes interconnected via wireless links to form a multihop ad hoc network. An emerging application area for wireless mesh networks is their evolution into a converged infrastructure used to share and extend, to mobile users, the wireless Internet connectivity of sparsely deployed fixed lines with heterogeneous capacity, ranging from ISP-owned broadband links to subscriber owned low-speed connections. In this thesis we address different key research issues for this networking scenario. First, we propose an analytical predictive tool, developing a queuing network model capable of predicting the network capacity and we use it in a load aware routing protocol in order to provide, to the end users, a quality of service based on the throughput. We then extend the queuing network model and introduce a multi-class queuing network model to predict analytically the average end-to-end packet delay of the traffic flows among the mobile end users and the Internet. The analytical models are validated against simulation. Second, we propose an address auto-configuration solution to extend the coverage of a wireless mesh network by interconnecting it to a mobile ad hoc network in a transparent way for the infrastructure network (i.e., the legacy Internet interconnected to the wireless mesh network). Third, we implement two real testbed prototypes of the proposed solutions as a proof-of-concept, both for the load aware routing protocol and the auto-configuration protocol. Finally we discuss the issues related to the adoption of ad hoc networking technologies to address the fragility of our communication infrastructure and to build the next generation of dependable, secure and rapidly deployable communications infrastructures

A Review of the Energy Efficient and Secure Multicast Routing Protocols for Mobile Ad hoc Networks

This paper presents a thorough survey of recent work addressing energy efficient multicast routing protocols and secure multicast routing protocols in Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs). There are so many issues and solutions which witness the need of energy management and security in ad hoc wireless networks. The objective of a multicast routing protocol for MANETs is to support the propagation of data from a sender to all the receivers of a multicast group while trying to use the available bandwidth efficiently in the presence of frequent topology changes. Multicasting can improve the efficiency of the wireless link when sending multiple copies of messages by exploiting the inherent broadcast property of wireless transmission. Secure multicast routing plays a significant role in MANETs. However, offering energy efficient and secure multicast routing is a difficult and challenging task. In recent years, various multicast routing protocols have been proposed for MANETs. These protocols have distinguishing features and use different mechanismsComment: 15 page