Dynamic Cooperative MAC Protocol for Navigation Carrier Ad Hoc Networks: A DiffServ-Based Approach

Abstract

Abstract:In this paper, a dynamic cooperative MAC protocol (DDC-MAC) based on cluster network topology is proposed, which has the capability of differentiated service mechanisms and long-range communication. In DDC-MAC, heterogeneous communications are classified according to service types and quality of service (QoS) requirements, i.e., periodic communication mode (PC mode) is extracted with a QoS guarantee for high-frequency periodic information exchange based on adapt-TDMA mechanisms, while other services are classified as being in on-demand communication mode (OC mode), which includes channel contention and access mechanisms based on a multiple priority algorithm. OC mode is embedded into the adapt-TDMA process adaptively, and the two communication modes can work in parallel. Furthermore, adaptive array hybrid antenna systems and cooperative communication with optimal relay are presented, to exploit the opportunity for long-range transmission, while an adaptive channel back-off sequence is deduced, to mitigate packet collision and network congestion. Moreover, we developed an analytical framework to quantify the performance of the DDC-MAC protocol and conducted extensive simulation. Simulation results show that the proposed DDC-MAC protocol enhances network performance in diverse scenarios, and significantly improves network throughput and reduces average delay compared with other MAC protocols.

Special Issue: Quality of Service in Wireless Sensor/Actuator Networks and Systems

“…Papers cover a wide range of topics, namely the optimization of retransmission scheduling in IEEE 802.15.4e WSANs [1], an experimental evaluation of LoRa reliability [2], the estimation of WSAN lifetime based on innovative battery models [3], a novel radio interference classification method for WSANs [4], a dynamic QoS-aware MAC that can be boosted for long-range communications [5], an RSSI-based model-learning for target localization/tracking [6], using sensor network calculus for designing WSANs with predictable e2e delays [7], and decision-centric WSAN resource management [8]. A brief summary of each paper is provided here.…”

“…In such multi-agent cyber-physical ecosystems, localization/tracking and wireless communications are paramount and extremely challenging, considering that QoS must be guaranteed in highly dynamic, uncontrolled, open-space, and large-scale settings. The authors of [5,6] engineer solutions toward this end.…”

“…The authors of [5] elaborate on a cooperative MAC protocol specifically designed for networks of UAVs, supporting traffic differentiation between best-effort (on-demand) and guaranteed bandwidth (periodic). The authors complement this data-link layer protocol with two mechanisms that improve the reliability and range of communications, namely an adaptive antenna array that enables omnidirectional and directional transmissions and a cooperative relayer mechanism.…”

Data-Gathering and Aggregation Protocol for Networked Carrier Ad Hoc Networks: The Optimal and Heuristic Approach

“…In Refs. [2,3], we have finished partial protocols and mechanisms as follows: (i) the protocol framework and the models in physical layer [2]; (ii) a diffserv-based dynamic cooperative MAC protocol, i.e., DDC-MAC [3]; and (iii) the network-based localization mechanisms [4][5][6]. As part of a series of research work, the main objective of this chapter is to develop a data-gathering and aggregation (DGA) protocol with full account of the unique challenges in NC-NET.…”

“…That is, the level of navigation efficiency is closely related to selfcontained degree of navigation system; on one hand, the upgrade of its integrity will increase the burdens on economic investment and physical load; on the other hand, if we simplify the complexity of navigation equipment to alleviate the above burdens, its navigation capacity will be degraded accordingly. In previous works [2][3][4][5][6], we have proposed a novel network architecture, namely, navigation carrier ad hoc networks (NC-NET), to handle the navigation-related issues, in terms of cooperative navigation, localization, target tracking and multimedia data exchange, through a network approach. The proposed NC-NET, which is essentially ad hoc network between navigation carriers (NCs), is surveyed as a new network family.…”