The CARWANs Project in the Computer Science Department at University of Pittsburgh is an endeavor to design, implement and evaluate a cluster based ad-hoc networking environment where the cluster formation is highly dynamic and scalable. Using a new criteria for cluster formation, called (α, t) availability of a adhoc network path we design networks that give probabilistic gaurantees about the time for which a cluster exists. It is also expected, that this type of probabilistic gaurantee regarding the availability of a path between two nodes will in some sense help give probabilistic gaurantee regarding the QoS parameters in adhoc networks. So far very little work has been done in adhoc networks regarding dynamic clustering itself and still less regarding QoS gaurantees. We expect the (α, t) cluster framework to have far reaching consequences in the domain of adhoc mobile networks.

What makes this framework more interesting is that no assumptions regarding the size or topology of the network have been made. So the framework is sufficiently generic to allow for easy modifications and changes in wake of newer constraints and issues that might come in.

Side note: The name CARWANs tries to simulate the word CARAVANS, so you get a feeling that it is a train of mobile terminals that we are trying to chain together. It is an acronym for Cluster-based Adaptive Routing in Wireless Adhoc Networks.

© University of Pittsburgh. All rights reserved. CARWANs is maintained as part of Cyber Sphere, which is also under the auspices of the University of Pittsburgh.