Bio-Inspired Approaches to Secure Scalable Networking

Tactical wireless communication networks, including both mobile ad hoc networks as well as sensor networks, are intrinsically dynamic, unreliable, and large scale. Therefore, capabilities such as self-configuration, resilience, and rapid recovery from disruptions to the network structure (such as failed nodes and jammed links) are critical to their successful operations, which pose difficult design challenges. However, design approaches which assume that the system is composed of reliable components, and/or that the system is of relatively small scale are not applicable in such environments. In addition, design approaches that are based on central and/or explicit control over the system as a whole either introduce a single point of failure or make the system not adaptable; such approaches are not applicable in such environments either. It is therefore critical to explore new design paradigms and approaches that do not suffer from these defects. In this proposal, we adapt the biological metaphor of Swarm Intelligence to design an adaptive networking architecture and a set of energy-efficient, robust, and scalable networking protocols for tactical wireless communication networks. We will also analyze the behavior and the performance of the proposed protocols through simulation and mathematically modeling.