Neighborhood tracking for mobile ad hoc networks

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), node mobility causes network topologies to change dynamically over time, which complicates such important tasks as broadcasting and routing. In a typical efficient localized approach, each node makes forwarding decisions based on a neighborhood local view constructed simply by collecting received "Hello" messages. That kind of neighborhood local view can become outdated and inconsistent, which induces a low-coverage problem for efficient broadcasting tasks and a low-delivery ratio problem for efficient routing tasks. In this paper, we propose a neighborhood tracking scheme to guarantee the accuracy of forwarding decisions. Based on historical location information, nodes predict the positions of neighbors when making a forwarding decision, and then construct an updated and consistent neighborhood local view to help derive more precise forwarding decisions. The inaccuracy factors of our scheme are also discussed and an accessory method is provided for possible usage. Simulation results illustrate the accuracy of our proposed tracking scheme. To verify the effectiveness of our scheme, we apply it to existing efficient broadcast algorithms. Simulation results indicate that our neighborhood tracking scheme can improve the protocols coverage ratio greatly. (C) Published by Elsevier B.V.