The imperfections of the propagation channel due to channel fading and the self-generated noise from the RF front-end of the receiver cause errors in the received signal in electronic communication systems. When network coding is applied, more errors occur because of error propagation due to the inexact decoding process. In this dissertation we present a system called Partial Network Coding with Cooperation (PNC-COOP) for wireless ad hoc networks. It is a system which combines opportunistic network coding with decode-and-forward cooperative diversity, in order to reduce this error propagation by trading off some transmission degrees of freedom. PNC-COOP is a decentralized, energy efficient strategy which provides a substantial benefit over opportunistic network coding when transmission power is a concern. The proposed scheme is compared with both opportunistic network coding and conventional multi-hop transmission analytically and through simulation. Using a 3-hop communication scenario, in a 16-node wireless ad hoc network, it is shown that PNC-COOP improves the BER performance by 5 dB compared to opportunistic network coding. On average, it reduces the energy used by each sender node around 10% and reduces the overall transmitted energy of the network by 3.5%. When retransmission is applied, it is shown analytically that PNC-COOP performs well at relatively low to medium SNR while the throughput is comparable to that of opportunistic network coding. The effectiveness of both opportunistic network coding and PNC-COOP depends not only on the amount of network coding but also on other factors that are analyzed and discussed in this dissertation. / Graduation date: 2011 / Access restricted to the OSU Community at author's request from May 12, 2011 - May 12, 2012

在機會網路上，傳遞資料遠比一般網路困難。運用行動代理人於機會網路上， 可大幅提升機會網路的功能，其中的行動代理人平台，需要一個代理人的搜尋 機制，方能實現對代理人的控制。本篇論文以「山文誌登山資訊系統」為背景，探討行動代理人在機會網路上的應用。在此登山客追蹤與環境監控系統中，每個登山客都攜帶一個配備有 GPS 功能的小型設備，此設備會在登山客的移動過程中，自動收集位置資訊，並使用短程無線電來和鄰近的登山客交換彼此的資訊。由於行動代理人是附屬於登山客所攜帶的設備上，而且當靠近其他登山客時，才可藉此轉移到另一個設備，故其行動力受制於登山客的移動行為。因登山客行走速率差異不大、所在位置分佈不均，使得行動代理人的轉移極為緩慢且需仰賴不確定的碰面機會，導致行動代理人之搜尋效率極低，無法支援緊急任務。為此，我們提出控制網路的方法，及一個簡單的搜尋演算法，讓搜尋代理人藉此高速網路來快速移動，以提高目標代理人的搜尋效率。在不同的考量及目標下，我們提出幾個控制網路的建置模型，並在證明其為 NP-complete問題後，提出有效的啟發式演算法來解決此控制點選擇問題。 / Transmitting data on an opportunistic network is much more difficult than that on a general network. The communication capability of an opportunistic network can be greatly enhanced via mobile agent functionality. A mobile agent platform demands a search mechanism to locate and control its agents. In this thesis, we investigate the adoption of mobile agent to opportunistic networks using "CenWits" system as reference model. In CenWits system, each hiker carries a GPS enabled sensor node to collect and exchange movement statistics with its fellow hikers using a short range wireless links. Since mobile agents will be attached to the sensor nodes that hikers carry with, mobile agents can hop from one host to another only when two hosts (hikers) meet together such that their mobility is restrained by the moving behavior of hikers. The little difference in walking speed and the uneven distribution of hikers make the hopping of mobile agents extremely slow and opportunistic. As a consequence, the search of mobile agents is slow and inefficient crippling agility of urgent agent functionality. Therefore, we propose to construct a control network using high speed network for search agents to travel in high speed. Under different objectives and constraints, we propose several control point placement models. After proving them to be NP-Complete, we propose few efficient heuristic algorithms to solve the placement problem. We also propose a simple search algorithm for search agents to search target agents quickly by using a control network.

在機會網路上，訊息的遞送遠比一般網路來得困難許多，溝通交換資訊效率很低。本篇論文以山文誌資訊系統為背景，假設在山區中已佈建完成控制節點並組成控制網路，以及行動代理人機制已導入在控制網路上用來搜尋移動的目標節點。其中行動代理人附屬於登山客所攜帶的設備上，欲搜尋的目標節點會沿著登山路徑不斷移動造成搜尋上的困難，若搜尋失敗不只拉長延後了搜尋時間，也可能錯失黃金救難時間造成極大的損失，如何增進搜尋效率是機會網路上相當重要的議題。為此，本文提出一個搜尋方法，在任意的時間點計算目標行動節點落在每個控制節點之間路段的機率，預測目標代理人的位置，就可依機率高低逐次搜尋各路段，以提高搜尋效率。我們以山文誌登山資訊系統，作為參考的機會網路，提出兩個模型，使用機率預測搜尋法，預測行動節點可能所在位置優先搜尋此路段來降低整體搜尋時間，透過一連串的實驗驗證機率模型之準確度，並評估本法之搜尋效率以及當各路段花費時間的機率分佈假設有誤時，搜尋效率的受損程度。在我們的實驗中，機率模型之準確度極高，誤差不超過7.59%，搜尋效率都在44.44以上，即使機率分佈錯誤，搜尋效能仍高於二分搜尋法約2倍。 / Since transmitting data on an opportunistic network is more difficult than that on a general network, information exchanging is less efficient. Based on “CenWits” system, we assume that control point has entirely construed all over the mountains and a control network has completed altogether; meanwhile, the mobile agent mechanism has applied in the searching of mobile target nodes. With mobile agent attached on the equipment of hikers, the target agent moving constantly along the hiking path grows the difficulties in searching. The failure in locating the mobile agent possibly not only prolongs the searching time, but also misses the golden time of life saving, and causes enormously damages eventually. Therefore, figuring that “improving the efficiency of searching” is a major issue in opportunistic network, in this thesis we develop a searching method which enables us to calculate the probability where a mobile target agent locates in every edge between control points in any arbitrary time point. Through forecasting the location of the target agent, we can start searching from the edge with the highest probability, thus enhance the efficiency of searching. Using “CenWits” system as reference opportunistic network, we designed two probability models as well as associated search methods. We conducted a series of experiments to evaluate the accuracy of probabilistic models and the performance of the proposed search methods. In our experiments, the error of probability models is no more than 7.59%. Our proposed methods out perform Basic Binary Search by 44.44 in average. Furthermore, assuming that there is a discrepancy between the probability assumptions and the real distribution of the traveling time spent on each edge, we evaluate the performance degradation too. The experimental results show that under such circumstance, our Probabilistic Prediction Method can even outperform Basic Binary Search by approximately 200%.

Cette thèse aborde le problème de la surcharge des réseaux des données des opérateurs mobiles. La croissance des abonnements au haut débit mobile engendre aujourd'hui de nombreux goulots d'étranglement dans ces réseaux. Plus particulièrement, la disponibilité de la bande passante sur les stations de bases est de plus en plus réduite. Pour faire face à cette problématique, les opérateurs mobiles essaient de décharger le trafic des données de leurs infrastructures en déployant des réseaux de substitution à petites cellules, tels que les femtocells ou réseaux WiFi publics. Ces réseaux restent néanmoins très localisés et ne résolvent donc que très partiellement le problème. Ainsi, plus récemment, nous voyons l'émergence des réseaux opportunistes qui visent à transmettent les données en ne se basant que sur les dispositifs mobiles, c-à-d, de dispositif à dispositif. Cette thèse vise à évaluer la faisabilité de décharger le trafic de données mobile à l'aide des hotspots WiFi en étendant leur champs de couverture par l'utilisation des réseaux opportunistes. Pour ce faire, cette thèse propose un cadre pour le déchargement (offloading) de données de façon opportuniste et un mécanisme d'incitation pour encourager la coopération des utilisateurs des dispositifs mobiles. Dans une première partie de cette thèse, nous avons tracé la couverture 3G et WiFi à travers plusieurs lignes de bus à Paris afin d'évaluer la façon dont les utilisateurs et les opérateurs mobiles peuvent bénéficier des réseaux WiFi existants pour le déchargement des données. Nos résultats indiquent que les points d'accès WiFi déployés par les fournisseurs de service Internet peuvent décharger une partie non négligeable du trafic de données, cependant des restrictions telles que le temps de l'association et le processus d'authentification peuvent diminuer la quantité de données transmises. Dans une tentative d'offrir une nouvelle approche pour le déchargement mobile, nous proposons dans un second temps un cadre décisionnel multi-critères, appelé OppLite, pour décharger les données des réseaux de mobiles 3G grâce à des communications dispositif à dispositif opportunistes. Nous avons montré par des simulations qu'un tel déchargement mobile opportuniste peut étendre la couverture et l'efficacité des réseaux cellulaires, permettant un déchargement pouvant aller jusqu'à 36% des données dans certains scénarios. L'efficacité du déchargement mobile par les réseaux opportunistes dépend principalement de la tolérance au délai par l'application et de la coopération des utilisateurs mobiles. Le déchargement opportuniste dépend de la volonté de l'utilisateur d'offrir ses ressources aux autres. Nous avons donc proposé, dans un troisième temps, un mécanisme d'incitation, appelé MINEIRO, qui calcul un rang de réputation basée sur la source des messages reçus par les nœuds intermédiaires. MINEIRO permet à des réseaux composés d'un pourcentage important, allant jusqu'à 60%, de nœuds avec un comportement égoïste sans dégradation des performances dans un scénario de mobilité aléatoire. Au delà de ce pourcentage, MINEIRO permet maintenir un taux de livraison et des délais de livraison constants / This thesis addresses the overload problem of the Wireless Internet service Providers' (WISP) network. The growth of mobile broadband subscription has been leading several bottlenecks to WISPs, such as, bandwidth availability and resource sharing of over a single cellular cell. WISPs can move off data traffic from its infrastructure by deploying small cells, such as femtocells, to public WiFi networks or, more recently, to device-to-device opportunistic networks. This work evaluates the feasibility to offload mobile data traffic using WiFi hotspots, proposes a framework to opportunistic data offloading and an incentive mechanism to encourage users cooperation. We mapped 3G and WiFi coverage through several bus routes in Paris in order to evaluate how users and WISPs can benefit from the existing infrastructure. Our results indicate that the deployed WISPs access points can offload part of the data traffic, however restrictions such as association time and the authentication process may reduce the amount of offloaded data. We propose a multi-criteria decision-making framework, called OppLite, to offload data from 3G networks using opportunistic device-to-device communications. Trace-driven simulations showed that opportunistic mobile offloading can expand coverage and network efficiency, offloading up to 36% of data in certain scenarios. Thus, the effectiveness of opportunistic mobile offloading depends mainly of the delay tolerance of the applications and whether the user cooperates. Since opportunistic offloading depends on the user's willingness to offer his/her resources to others, we propose a message-based incentive mechanism that builds a reputation rank based on the source of messages received by the forwarding nodes, called MINEIRO. The network supports up to 60% of nodes with selfish behavior without performance degradation in a random mobility scenario. After this threshold, MINEIRO kept the delivery rate and the delay constant. Meanwhile, in a scenario with social-based mobility, selfish behavior degrades the network performance quickly

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