Wireless ad hoc networks consist of nodes that communicate over a common wireless channel, thus forming an all-wireless network. Contrary to cellular networks, the nodes are not supported by any type of additional infrastructure, such as base stations, a wired backbone, a central network controller, etc. Therefore, the establishment of the network and its operation must be exclusively over the wireless channel, and in a distributed and decentralized manner. Despite the obvious technical challenges, these networks have attracted significant research interest in recent years, as they are very well suited for many challenging settings, such as in search and rescue operations, sensing applications, mesh networks, vehicular communications, etc. In this overview article, we introduce the concept of wireless ad hoc networks, we discuss their advantages over the cellular topology, we review their history, we go over their most important current and future applications, and we discuss the ongoing research on the field, with an emphasis on the critical theoretical and technical challenges that must be overcome for this network paradigm to achieve its full potential.
Ad-hoc-Funknetze bestehen aus Knoten, die über einen gemeinsamen Funkkanal kommunizieren. So bilden sie ein völlig drahtloses Netzwerk. Im Gegensatz zu zellularen Netzen werden die Knoten durch keinerlei zusätzliche Infrastruktur wie Basisstationen, Kabelnetz, zentrale Netzsteuerung oder Ähnliches unterstützt. Deshalb lässt sich das Netzwerk nur über den Funkkanal und nur verteilt und dezentralisiert konfigurieren und betreiben. Trotz offensichtlicher technischer Widrigkeiten sind solche Netze in jüngster Vergangenheit Gegenstand intensiver Forschung geworden, da sie sich hervorragend für zahlreiche Aufgabenstellungen wie Rettungsmaßnahmen, Überwachung, Mesh-Netzwerke, Mobilkommunikation usw. eignen. In diesem Überblicksartikel werden Ad-hoc-Funknetze konzeptuell eingeführt, ihre Vorteile gegenüber zellularen Topologien, ihre historische Entwicklung und ihre wichtigsten Anwendungen in Gegenwart und Zukunft aufgezeigt und der gegenwärtige Stand der Forschung zusammengefasst. Hierbei liegt das Hauptaugenmerk auf den kritischen Problemstellungen in Theorie und Praxis, die gelöst werden müssen, bevor diese Netzphilosophie ihr volles Potential entfalten kann.
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Toumpis, S., Toumpakaris, D. Wireless ad hoc networks and related topologies: applications and research challenges. Elektrotech. Inftech. 123, 232–241 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00502-006-0348-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00502-006-0348-9
Keywords
- Ad hoc networks
- Wireless networks
- Mesh networks
- Cellular topology
- Wireless networks for military applications
- Routing
- Access control