Maximum battery life routing to support ubiquitous mobile computing in wireless ad hoc networks

TLDR

Ad hoc mobile devices rely on batteries, making power consumption a critical issue, yet existing routing algorithms cannot simultaneously balance power distribution and transmission power minimization. The study aims to maximize ad hoc mobile network lifetime by evenly distributing node power consumption while minimizing overall transmission power per connection. A novel power‑aware routing protocol is proposed and evaluated against other power‑related routing algorithms through simulation. Simulations show that balancing service availability and device lifetime is essential for optimal network performance.

Abstract

Most ad hoc mobile devices today operate on batteries. Hence, power consumption becomes an important issue. To maximize the lifetime of ad hoc mobile networks, the power consumption rate of each node must be evenly distributed, and the overall transmission power for each connection request must be minimized. These two objectives cannot be satisfied simultaneously by employing routing algorithms proposed in previous work. We present a new power-aware routing protocol to satisfy these two constraints simultaneously; we also compare the performance of different types of power-related routing algorithms via simulation. Simulation results confirm the need to strike a balance in attaining service availability performance of the whole network vs. the lifetime of ad hoc mobile devices.