Trace-based mobility modeling for multi-hop wireless networks

Realistic and scenario-dependent mobility modeling is crucial for the reliable performance evaluation of multi-hop networks. In the last decade, a significant number of synthetic mobility models have been proposed. However, only a few of these models have been validated by realistic movement traces. In the last few years, several of such traces have been collected, analyzed, and made available to the community. This paper provides a comprehensive and up-to-date survey of (1) available movement traces, (2) modeling/analyses of these traces, and (3) synthetic mobility models. The focus of the paper is on mobility traces/models that include position information. The contribution of this paper is to summarize the research that has been done in the area of mobility modeling over the last few years and present challenges for future work. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.