Mobile Ad Hoc Networks for Oceanic Aircraft Communications

Research into mobile ad hoc networks (MANET’s) has exploded in recent years. MANET’s are a type of wireless network in which independently mobile nodes are capable of self-forming and maintaining a connected network, even in the face of topology changes. Surprisingly, there has been minimal work in applying these techniques to a problem that thousands of people face each day: lack of connectivity during transoceanic air travel. This work investigates the technical feasibility of using MANET techniques to provide connectivity from aircraft to land-based communication infrastructure. In pursuit of this goal, a simulation has been developed which incorporates a wide range of system issues including aircraft mobility, communication link performance, and optimal network allocation. At the center of this simulation lies an aircraft mobility model which fuses airline schedule data with probabilistic flight delay and cancellation events. An SNR-based link capacity model is used to predict feasible communication rates between aircraft and ground stations. Finally, an optimal max-min fair allocation algorithm is used to assess the capacity of this network. Our results show that system connectivity percentages in excess of 90% are achievable. Furthermore, the network allocation results indicate that megabit class data rates can be supplied to the majority of users. We conclude this thesis by presenting some design trade-offs that are likely to be of interest to those implementing the system. Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Eytan Modiano Title: Associate Professor