Context-aware self-adaptive routing for delay tolerant network in disaster scenarios

Abstract

In the generalized loss of communication as a result of extensive damage to the communication infrastructure in disaster or emergency scenarios, mobile ad-hoc networks can play an important role in improving communication in the affected areas and working around network disruptions. Communication protocols face a highly dynamic and congested network topology that require highly adaptable solutions. This article proposes a context-aware self-adaptive routing protocol for Delay Tolerant Networks that is able to adapt to different scenarios, allowing the participants of the network to automatically select a DTN protocol according to past performance of routing protocols under the current scenario. We define metrics to implement this approach in a disaster scenario and evaluate our proposal with simulation over three different mobility models. The proposed protocol shows a significant reduction of energy consumption with a good tradeoff with the delivery rate.