Using cellular automata to determine bounds for measuring the efficiency of broadcast algorithms in highly mobile ad hoc networks

Abstract

The proliferation of mobile computing devices in recent years has produced an increased interest in the development of efficient methods of communication among these devices. As networked mobile devices move, the configurations of the networks of which they are a part change and if the time between these changes is short enough then conventional routing algorithms are no longer useful. This paper describes the use of cellular automata to model message broadcasting among autonomous agents in highly mobile ad hoc networks. The advantages offered by using this method to study the problem are discussed and an upper bound on the time steps required by a "reasonable" broadcast algorithm is derived. © Springer-Verlag 2004.