Abstract:  

Infrastructure-free networking of wireless and mobile nodes is a necessity in situations where the infrastructure is non-existent or compromised. They are also increasingly being considered as a viable approach to off-loading a congested and expensive wireless infrastructure. Until recently, the vast majority of research in wireless and mobile networks focused on so-called Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) where relatively stable end-to-end paths are the norm.  More recently, research has focused on data delivery techniques in a more realistic Intermittently-Connected Network (ICN) paradigm, where stable end-to-end paths are the exception.  In this talk I will first give an overview of ICNs and the types of challenges involved in their design and operation. I will then discuss our work in the WAM (wireless and mobile) Continuum Project which is based on the simple but powerful observation that MANETs and ICNs fit into a continuum that generalizes these two previously distinct categories. Building  on this observation, our work develops a framework that goes further to scope the entire space of wireless and mobile networks. I will summarize efforts to answer the following fundamental questions regarding such networks: 1) How can one describe connectivity properties in a mobile and potentially intermittently connected network? 2) Do  such networks have a backbone? 3) How can one enhance the usefulness of mobile network trace collection exercises? and  4) Can mobile networks compute?