Mobile ad hoc networking: milestones, challenges, and new research directions

In this article we discuss the state of the art of (mobile) multihop ad hoc networking. This paradigm has often been identified with the solutions developed inside the IETF MANET working group, and for this reason it is called the MANET paradigm. However, they do not coincide, and in the last decade they clearly diverged. In this article, we start from the reasons why the MANET paradigm did not have a major impact on computer communications, and we discuss the evolution of the multihop ad hoc networking paradigm by building on the lessons learned from the MANET research. Specifically, we analyze four successful networking paradigms, mesh, sensor, opportunistic, and vehicular networks, that emerged from the MANET world as a more pragmatic application of the multihop ad hoc networking paradigm. We also present the new research directions in the multihop ad hoc networking field: peoplecentric networking, triggered by the increasing penetration of the smartphones in everyday life, which is generating a people-centric revolution in computing and communications.