Researchers
Improve Fast-Moving Mobile Networks
Mobile ad
hoc networks (MANETs) allow people in multiple, rapidly-moving vehicles to
communicate with each other – such as in military or emergency-response
situations. Researchers from North Carolina State University have devised a
method to improve the quality and efficiency of data transmission in these
networks.
“Our goal
was to get the highest data rate possible, without compromising the fidelity of
the signal,” says Dr. Alexandra Duel-Hallen, a professor of electrical and
computer engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the work.
Transmitting
data within MANETs is challenging because every node that transmits and
receives data is in motion – and the faster they are moving, the harder it is
for the network to identify effective relay “paths” for transmitting data. This
is because the power of the data-transmission channels fluctuates much more
rapidly at high speed.
In other
words, a transmitter may try to send a message through Relay A, because Relay A
has a strong signal. However, because the transmitter and Relay A are both
moving quickly, Relay A’s signal might be weak by the time the message actually
gets there. And a weak signal could result in the message being garbled.
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