Series in Distributed Computing
edited by Roger Wattenhofer
Vol. 4

Regina O’Dell,
Understanding Ad hoc Networks.
From Geometry to Mobility.

1st edition/1. Aufl. 2006, 176 pages/Seiten, € 64,00. ISBN 3-86628-113-7

 

With the increase in number and decrease in size of computing devices, the bulk of networking research has shifted its focus away from stationary, heavyduty computer networks such as the Internet toward wireless ad hoc networks composed of small, cheap, and in many ways limited battery-operated devices. This paradigm shift unveils both unexpected limitations as well as unprecedented latitudes. The network designer has to deal with possibly severe size, energy, communication ability, and cost constraints while at the same time he must account for uncertain mobility of the nodes. A number of applications for wireless networks require the nodes to know their position, a key example is given by sensor networks where it is vital to associate a location to the reported sensor data. Given their size and energy restrictions, often it is not possible to equip the nodes with the necessary hardware to allow them to directly deduce their positions. Consequently, it becomes important to develop algorithms which compute the coordinates of the network nodes in software based on what limited connectivity and range information is available to them. This geometric aspect of wireless networks is the object of scrutiny in the first part of this thesis. One of the primary operations drastically affected by mobility is routing, or, more generally, the task of disseminating information from one part of the network to another. As such, this dissertation provides preliminary results for analytically studying the effect of mobility on routing protocols in both highly and moderately dynamic networks.

 

About the author:

 

Regina O’Dell (n. Bischoff) received her M.Sc. degree in computer science (Dipl. Informatik-Ing ETH) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland in 2003. In the same year she joined the Distributed Computing Group of Professor Roger Wattenhofer at ETH Zurich as a Ph.D. student and research assistant. In 2006 she earned her Ph.D. degree for her work on mobility phenomena in and geometric aspects of ad hoc and sensor networks.

Keywords: Networks, Distributed Computing, Wireless Communication, Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks

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