Self-Organization of Wireless Ad Hoc Networks as Small Worlds Using Long Range Directional Beams

TL;DR

This paper explores how long-range directional beams can enable wireless ad hoc networks to self-organize into small world structures, improving efficiency and connectivity through a novel algorithm and centrality measure.

Contribution

It introduces a deterministic algorithm for small world formation in wireless networks using traffic-based centrality to select beamforming nodes.

Findings

Significant reduction in network path length.

Maintains network connectivity with beamforming.

Proposes a new centrality measure for node importance.

Abstract

We study how long range directional beams can be used for self-organization of a wireless network to exhibit small world properties. Using simulation results for randomized beamforming as a guideline, we identify crucial design issues for algorithm design. Subsequently, we propose an algorithm for deterministic creation of small worlds. We define a new centrality measure that estimates the structural importance of nodes based on traffic flow in the network, which is used to identify the optimum nodes for beamforming. This results in significant reduction in path length while maintaining connectivity.