Pocket switched networks and human mobility in conference environments

ABSTRACT

Pocket Switched Networks (PSN) make use of both human mobility and local/global connectivity in order to transfer data between mobile users' devices. This falls under the Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) space, focusing on the use of opportunistic networking. One key problem in PSN is in designing forwarding algorithms which cope with human mobility patterns. We present an experiment measuring forty-one humans' mobility at the Infocom 2005 conference. The results of this experiment are similar to our previous experiments in corporate and academic working environments, in exhibiting a power-law distrbution for the time between node contacts. We then discuss the implications of these results on the design of forwarding algorithms for PSN.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.1 Network Architecture and Design

General Terms:
Experimentation, Human Factors, Measurement

Keywords:
delay-tolerant networking, mobile networking, network measurement, wireless networking