Impact of mobility on the BER performance of multi-hop ad hoc wireless networks

In this paper, we propose a simple semi-analytical approach for the evaluation of the impact of mobility on the bit error rate (BER) performance of multi-hop ad hoc wireless networks. Analytical expressions, relating the BER at the end of a multi-hop route with the mobility characteristics of the nodes and the routing strategy, are derived. Two node mobility models are considered: direction-persistent (DP) and direction-nonpersistent (DNP). In particular, two network switching scenarios are analyzed: (i) opportunistic non-reservation-based switching (ONRBS), where a message flows from source to destination by opportunistically choosing the available shortest consecutive links; and (ii) reservation-based switching (RBS), where, after the creation of a multi-hop route from source to destination, the message is "forced" to flow over the reserved links, regardless of their actual lengths. The network performance is evaluated in ideal (without inter-node interference, INI) and realistic (with INI) cases. The improved robustness against mobility offered by ONRBS, with respect to RBS, is analyzed and quantified.