Improving Resiliency of Vital Services in Flood-Affected Regions of Bangladesh Using Next-Generation Opportunistic DTN Edge Ad Hoc Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces AZIZA, an adaptive, trust-aware opportunistic routing protocol designed to enhance communication resilience in flood-affected regions of Bangladesh by leveraging mobile devices and UAVs in infrastructure-less networks.

Contribution

The paper presents AZIZA, a novel next-generation routing protocol that integrates zone-based forwarding, trust metrics, and context-driven decisions for disaster-prone environments.

Findings

AZIZA improves delivery reliability over benchmark protocols.

It enhances energy efficiency in dynamic flood scenarios.

AZIZA demonstrates high resilience and adaptability in simulations.

Abstract

Opportunistic routing architectures offer a resilient communication paradigm in environments where conventional networks fail due to disrupted infrastructure, dynamic node mobility, and intermittent connectivity conditions that commonly arise during large-scale disasters. In Bangladesh, recurring floods severely hinder communication systems, isolating affected populations and obstructing emergency response efforts. To address these challenges, there is a growing demand for intelligent and adaptive routing solutions capable of sustaining critical communication and services without relying on fixed infrastructure. This research presents AZIZA (Adaptive Zone-based Intelligent Fully Distributed Trust-Aware Routing Protocol), a next-generation opportunistic protocol designed to improve the resiliency of critical communication and services in disaster-prone and flood-affected regions. AZIZA supports adaptive data delivery for emergency alerts, sensor readings, and inter-zone coordination by integrating (1) zone-based forwarding to optimize localized transmission, (2) trust-aware logic to bypass uncooperative or malicious nodes, and (3) context-driven decision-making based on trust metrics, residual energy, and historical delivery patterns. AZIZA operates over lightweight, infrastructure-less edge ad hoc networks comprising mobile phones, UAVs, and ground vehicles acting as decentralized service relays. Simulation results using The Opportunistic Network Environment (ONE) Simulator configured with real-world mobility traces and flood data from Bangladesh demonstrate that AZIZA significantly outperforms benchmark approaches in delivery reliability, energy efficiency, and routing resilience. As a scalable and deployable framework, AZIZA advances the use of next-generation opportunistic routing in environments where traditional systems routinely collapse.