Abstract

Routing in dynamic wireless networks is problematic, presenting challenges that are poorly addressed by Internet-style addressing and routing. In static wireless networks, position-based mechanisms promise simple (in principle) solutions requiring little-to-no overhead. Despite their simplicity, there exists as yet no position-based routing that is suitable for dynamic networks.

In this talk I shall focus on a well-studied forwarding component for position-based routing called left- or right-hand rule (LHR). I will present a ‘first principles’ investigation in order to understand its limitations and obstacles. This reveals that there are only five (5) possible intersecting configurations. Surprisingly only one (1) of these configurations defeats LHR universally, and even then only under a strict set of circumstances that rarely appear. I shall then use this analysis, and our solutions so far, to suggest that it may be time to revisit traditional notions of path-finding guarantees in environments where non-routing elements are the dominant causes of loss.