Exploration and utilization of broadcasting nature of multi-hop wireless networks

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Multi-hop wireless networking studies a wireless data communcation scheme, where messages are forwarded multiple times over wireless links before reaching the destination for delivery. Multi-hop wireless networks are a powerful extension to the Internet that will allow it to be a truly ubiquitous infrastructure. Since the pioneering Packet Radio Network in the 1970's, research on such a networking paradigm has been fruitful. Not only have different enabling technologies been developed, they are also starting to be integrated to the Internet seamlessly. Achieving the tangible goal of harnessing the flexibility of such networks with high network operation efficiency is on the horizon. However, we should not be contented with the fact that multi-hop wireless networks are to be "as good as" the Internet. In fact, research on multi-hop wireless has been primarily focused on addressing issues emerging from a networking framework which are more or less deviations of or add-ons to the Internet. The most fundamental axiom of the Internet data transportation, i.e., packet forwarding among a group of nodes with multiple essentially point-to-point links, has been intact until recently. This is to be changed by recognizing and embracing the broadcasting nature of wireless communication channels of multi-hop wireless networks. Indeed, a wireless link in this case is a limited-scope broadcasting and multiple-access channel at the same time, which is a much more general and potentially more powerful model than the point-to-point channels in the Internet. Departure from practice and confinement of the Internet is the way to transcend it. To see further than the Internet giant, we must get onto his shoulders. The long term objective of the proposed research is to investigate the inherent properties of multi-hop wireless networks in order to overcome disadvantages of such networks induced by translating operating methods from the Internet and to fully unleash their potentials. It will advance the state-of-the-art data communication, so that we are ever closer to the ultimate goal of ubiquitous computation and information automation.