In the trenchesSeeking new ideas for mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs)
Troops operating in forward locations without telecommunication infrastructure often rely on a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) to communicate and share data. A constraint with current MANETs is they can only scale to around fifty nodes before network services become ineffective. DARPA is exploring new technologies unencumbered by Internet Protocols (IP) which could be the key to enabling large MANETs. The Internet facilitated far-reaching technical advances, but in this technology area the Internet may be the roadblock.
Troops operating in forward locations without telecommunication infrastructure often rely on a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) to communicate and share data. The communication devices troops use on foot or in vehicles double as nodes on the mobile network. A constraint with current MANETs is they can only scale to around fifty nodes before network services become ineffective. For the past twenty years, researchers have unsuccessfully used Internet-based concepts in attempts to significantly scale MANETs.
A DARPA release reports that DARPA is exploring new technologies unencumbered by Internet Protocols (IP) which could be the key to enabling large MANETs. Although the Internet facilitated far-reaching technical advances, in this technology area the Internet may be the roadblock. The MANET scaling goals will not be satisfied with incremental improvement using existing protocols and concepts. Truly revolutionary ideas will explore new paradigms that allow users to effectively share information unshackled from existing constraints.
“A MANET of a thousand nodes could support an entire battalion without the need for manual network setup, management and maintenance that comes from ‘switchboard’-era communications,” said Mark Rich, DARPA program manager. “This could provide more troops with robust services such as real-time video imagery, enhanced situational awareness and other services that we have not yet imagined.”
A Request for Information (RFI) released today calls for research paper abstracts describing bold, new technical approaches to overcoming the MANET scaling problem. DARPA intends to select innovative and promising concepts to be presented as papers at a symposium entitled, Novel Methods for Information Sharing in Large-Scale Mobile Ad Hoc Networks, 7-8 August 2013, at the DARPA Conference Center.
