Evaluating Time Varying Connectivities and System Throughput in Opportunistic Networks for Smart Grid Applications

摘要

With increasing proliferation of smart phones, there is an opportunity to employ mobile ad hoc networks to connect to distributed energy assets located in remote areas. With embedded intelligence and edge computing capabilities, autonomous `edge control nodes' can enable a decentralized energy nexus, without the need for on-demand communications. Authors have developed an opportunistic networking framework using Bluetooth Low Energy and a specialized mobile phone application that enables delay tolerant networking for the above framework. This paper presents the analysis of time varying graph connectivity for such an opportunistic mobile ad hoc network. Dependence of connectivity on different network parameters such as radio characteristics, the mobility of data mules and parameters governing how connections are established are explored. Simulation results showing the variation of above trends have been presented.