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Work package 3 aims at fulfilling the application requirements as far as wireless communication, mobility and position estimation are concerned. The focus is on mobility support, which corresponds to the availability of data transfer services that can be provided even in the circumstances in which network nodes are moving, either independently or in groups. In general, such mobility support is provided by specific mechanisms implemented at the level of the routing layer. It often implies some adaptations of the adjacent layers, Medium Access Control and the Link layer as a whole; unfortunately, traditional mobility support in wireless communications system are not providing any approach that are sufficiently energy-conservative. They are often dedicated to fast delivery, high-bandwidth and highly interactive protocols (e.g. handover techniques that are trying to minimise latency, jitter and packet loss). Wireless sensor networks are often data-centric, multi-hop and self organized. Mobility in data-centric communication is somehow covered by techniques that will be checked in MOBESENS applications. Mobility in multi-hop networks needs to be carefully studied, with a strong emphasis towards network lifetime. In addition, this work-package aims at defining, specifying and assessing the mobility support mechanisms that fit the requirements of the target application, to which a specific mobility model applies.
As a matter of fact, WP3 will base its studies and development on a data-centric and multi-hop capable wireless communication system, allowing for a more flexible and more robust system, which is considered as appropriate for the target operating conditions. It is more flexible because it offers automatic self- reconfiguration, allowing for the intentional addition, removal or motion of nodes. It is more robust because in case of failure of some nodes (this is likely to occur within the operational timeframe), the rest of the population is still able to operate and communicate, so that the system remains operational. The position of each node (absolute or relative to other nodes) is necessary in order to take operational decisions and to complete the information that is provided to the central system. The wireless sensor network will provide a sufficiently accurate position of each node within the communication system, typically based on theinformation provided by the radio.
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