Systematic Design and Implementation of Network Protocols for Mobile Multihop Wireless Networks

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Multi-hop wireless networks are widely deployed today, either in the form of wireless mesh networks, vehicular ad-hoc networks, cellular networks with relays, or wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In most cases, nodes, acting both as endhosts as well as routers, also move around, resulting in highly dynamic topologies. Increasingly, these networks are now running the TCP/IP protocol stack, which originally was not designed for highly dynamic networks, resulting in suboptimal network performance. In addition, new protocol requirements have emerged, for example the need to manage mobility, or localization and clock synchronization in wireless sensor networks. We are working closely with a range of partners on specific multi-hop wireless networks in different application domains, contributing to the protocol needs of these networks by designing and evaluating appropriate solutions, deploying analysis, simulations, and testbed experiments. Developing new protocols that work well is not a trivial task. Among other aspects, their design requires a thorough understanding of both the structure of a collection of nodes and links and the dynamic behavior of their aggregation. In recent years, Network Science has emerged as a new discipline to provide the scientific basis for studying networks. Yet to-date Network Science provides relatively little guideance when designing protocols in a systematic way for highly dynamic networks. The research program outlined here proposes a new approach to the design of protocols in the domain of multi-hop wireless networks. We will apply Network Science concepts to gain insights when developing network protocols in a number of different application domains. In the short term, this will result in protocols that are more robust and well-suited to the dynamic nature of multi-hop wireless networks. Longer-term, the insights gained by applying Network Science to these highly dynamic, multi-hop wireless networks will help advance Network Science itself.