Spatial locality in pocket switched networks

Abstract

The current Internet design falls short in scenarios characterized by intermittent connectivity and absence of supporting infrastructure. Pocket switched networking allows communication between portable handheld user devices in such environments through the store-carry-forward paradigm. This involves storing data in device memory, exploiting user movement to physically transport the data, and forwarding through available short-range wireless interfaces. In this regard, user devices can be leveraged as data mules for point-to-point communication in two main scenarios: (i) conveying data between major infrastructures in urban areas (e.g., transporting sensor data to gateways in smart cities); and (ii) extending wireless coverage to provide connectivity in developing regions (e.g., bridging user devices and remote Internet access points). User movement in such scenarios exhibit spatial locality, which is the preference to a geographical location than others. This feature influences the data transfer opportunities that exist between different sets of users. This paper investigates the impact of locality on routing in pocket switched networks by: (i) evaluating the performance of existing routing strategies for point-to-point communication over different degrees of locality; and (ii) providing insights towards enhancing routing performance for realizing the aforementioned application scenarios through locality awareness.