STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MOBILE ADHOC NETWORKS IN ROUTING PROTOCOLS USING WSNs

The vision of ubiquitous computing requires the development of devices and technologies, which can be pervasive without being intrusive. The basic components of such a smart environment will be small nodes with sensing and wireless communications capabilities, able to organize flexibly into a network for data collection and delivery. The constant improvements in digital circuit technology, has made the deployment of such small, inexpensive, lowpower, distributed devices, which are capable of information gathering, processing, and communication in miniature packaging, a reality. Realizing such a network presents very significant challenges, especially at the protocol and software level. Major steps forward are required in the field of communications protocol, data processing, and application support. Although sensor nodes will be equipped with a power supply (battery) and embedded processor that makes them autonomous and self-aware, their functionality and capabilities will be very limited. The resource limitations of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN), especially in terms of energy, require novel and collaborative approach for the wireless communication. Therefore, collaboration between nodes is essential to deliver smart services in a ubiquitous setting. Current research in this area generally assumes a rather static network, leading to strong performance degradation in a dynamic environment. In this thesis we investigate new algorithms for routing in dynamic wireless environment and evaluate their feasibility through experimentation. These algorithms will be key for building self-organizing and collaborative sensor networks that show emergent behaviour and can operate in a challenging environment where nodes move, fail and energy is a limited resource.