Simulation of realistic mobility patterns for mobile ad hoc networks

Due to the difficulties associated to real tests, the evaluation and comparison of the performance of ad hoc networks are usually based on simulations. Simulations require the settings of several parameters as the traffic patterns, the radio propagation channel or the mobility model that the nodes follow. Several mobility models have already been proposed in order to describe the real behaviour of mobile users. The Random WayPoint is one of the most extended mobility patterns employed in the MANET research activities. Although its popularity, some lacks are present in it. One of the main drawbacks is related to its inability to consider obstacles in order to restrict the positions of mobile devices. In this paper, we analyse the importance that this characteristic has on the performance of real ad hoc network scenarios. The results show that, although the absolute values of the different metrics employed for the computation of network performance are different, the tendencies of the general behaviour are similar.