Bio-Inspired Techniques for Topology Control of Mobile Nodes

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce a topology control mechanism based on genetic algorithms (GAs) within a mobile ad hoc network (MANET). We provide formal and practical aspects of convergence properties of our force-based genetic algorithm, called FGA. Within this framework, FGA is used as a decentralized topology control mechanism among active running software agents to achieve a uniform spread of autonomous mobile nodes over an unknown geographical terrain. FGA can be treated as a dynamical system in order to provide formalism to study its convergence trajectory in the space of possible populations. Discrete time dynamical system model is used for calculating the cumulative effects of our FGA operators such as selection, mutation, and crossover as a population of possible solutions evolves through generations. To demonstrate applicability of FGA to real-life problems and evaluate its effectiveness, we implemented a simulation software system and several different testbed platforms. The simulation and testbed experiment results indicate that, for important performance metrics such as normalized area coverage (NAC) and convergence rate, FGA can be an effective mechanism to deploy nodes under restrained communication conditions in MANETs operating in unknown areas. Since FGA adapts to the local environment rapidly and does not require global network knowledge, it can be used as a real-time topology controller for realistic military and civilian applications.