Ant-based distributed topology control algorithms for mobile ad hoc networks

By adjusting the transmission power of mobile nodes, topology control aims to reduce wireless interference, reduce energy consumption, and increase effective network capacity, subject to connectivity constraints. In this paper, we introduce the Ant-Based Topology Control (ABTC) algorithm that adapts the biological metaphor of Swarm Intelligence to control topology of mobile ad hoc networks. ABTC is a distributed algorithm where each node asynchronously collects local information from nearby nodes, via sending and receiving ant packets, to determine its appropriate transmission power. The operations of ABTC do not require any geographical location, angle-of-arrival, topology, or routing information, and are scalable. In particular, ABTC attempts to minimize the maximum power used by any node in the network, or minimize the total power used by all of the nodes in the network. By adapting swarm intelligence as an adaptive search mechanism, ABTC converges quickly to a good power assignment with respect to minimization objectives, and adapts well to mobility. In addition, ABTC may achieve common power, or properly assign power to nodes with non-uniform distribution. Results from a thorough comparative simulation study demonstrate the effectiveness of ABTC for different mobility speed, various density, and diverse node distributions.