1. Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks
(Half-day Tutorial)
A wireless ad-hoc network is a decentralized wireless network that does not rely on a
preexisting infrastructure. A principal property of wireless ad hoc networks is the use of wireless
nodes to produce, consume, and relay data on a flexible, as-needed basis appropriate for the
intended application. The research area of wireless ad-hoc networks now includes Mobile Ad-
Hoc Networks (MANETs), Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), Vehicle Ad-Hoc Networks
(VANETs), and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), as well as innovative extensions in areas
such as 3G and 4G cellular networks. Additionally, wireless ad-hoc networking and embedded
computing and sensing are providing novel solutions to long-standing challenges in other
application areas.
Specific topics to be covered in this tutorial include mobility, security, power conservation,
wireless medium access, routing, and specific performance issues such as TCP over wireless.
Each of these issues will be tied to ongoing work in corresponding wireless standards.
This application dependent nature of wireless ad-hoc networks is the motivation for examining a
wide variety of system implementations in this tutorial. For example, WSNs have proven most
suitable in situations where environmental monitoring is required across a spatially distributed
area over an extended period of time. Thus examples from the military, agricultural,
infrastructure and health monitoring predominate. Similar types of applications will be examined
for each class of wireless ad-hoc network such as vehicular networks, multimedia networks,
delay tolerant networks, etc. In summary, the primary objective with this tutorial is to reach out
to researchers from a breadth of research communities to show them the advantages Wireless
Ad-Hoc Network implementations can bring to their specific problems of interest.
With new coverage of Wireless Ad-Hoc Networks, this tutorial represents an expansion of the
successful HICSS 2011 tutorial. We will explore a diverse range of wireless ad-hoc network
applications and introduce the attendee to potential research areas of common interest.
Wireless ad-hoc networks have seen increasingly widespread use in recent years due to
significant technological advancements in a confluence of areas including radio transceivers,
MEMS, microprocessors and flash memory. The research area of wireless ad-hoc networks
now includes Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks (MANETs), Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs), Vehicle
Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs), Delay Tolerant Networks (DNT) and Wireless Sensor Networks
(WSNs), as well as innovative extensions in areas such as 3G and 4G cellular networks. The
tutorial is intended to compliment the Wireless Networking minitrack – within the Software
Technology track – by exposing the attendee to general wireless networking issues which may
be addressed in more detail in the main conference sessions.
2. Tutorial Leaders
John McEachen (Primary Contact)
833 Dyer Road, Room 437
Code EC/Mj
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93943
Direct: (831)656-3652
Department: (831)656-2081
Fax: (831)656-2760
Email: mceachen@nps.edu
John McEachen is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the
Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He received the Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees
from Yale University, the M.E.E.E. degree from the University of Virginia and the B.S.E.E. from
the University of Notre Dame.
Murali Tummala
833 Dyer Road, Room 437
Code EC/Tu
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93943
Direct: (831)656-2645
Department: (831)656-2081
Fax: (831)656-2760
Email: mtummala@nps.edu
Weilian Su
833 Dyer Road, Room 437
Code EC/Su
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Naval Postgraduate School
Monterey, California 93943
Direct: (831)656-3217
Department: (831)656-2081
Fax: (831)656-2760
Email: weilian@nps.edu
Commander Owens Walker, USN
Maury Hall room 327, Mail Stop 14B
105 Maryland Avenue
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
3. United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, MD 21402-5025
Direct: (831)747-7509
Department: (410) 293-6150
Fax: (410) 293-3493
Email: towalker@nps.edu
Edoardo Biagioni
Dept of Information and Computer Science
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI 96822
Email: esb@hawaii.edu