An ad hoc network is a wireless network with no fixed infrastructure. Individual nodes, each acting as a router (able to transmit and receive data), configure themselves into a network and determine how to work together as a unit. In particular each node participates in the discovery of communication paths and in the forwarding of packets. Ad hoc networks will enhance NASA science by providing a technology for rapidly deploying communications in remote locations.
Mobile nodes (or networks) can move freely between network domains, while maintaining their identity (a network address). These technologies are critical for space exploration. They will enable small sensors dropped onto a planet to configure themselves into a network. The sensors will be able to collect information, share it with one another, and send it to a central base station for possible return to scientists on Earth. Energy-efficient protocols and ad hoc/mobile network management techniques must be developed to insure efficient utilization of scarce resources in challenging environments.
Ad hoc networks and mobile computing are active areas within the research and engineering communities. Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANET) is a working group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) whose purpose is to standardize routing protocols for wireless ad hoc networks. This group is focusing on a small number of candidate routing protocols, including Ad Hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV), Dynamic Source Routing (DSR), Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR), and Topology Dissemination Based on Reverse-Path Forwarding (TBRPF).
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Research: Ad Hoc Routing
