Strip Interoperability for Wireless Ad Hoc Routing Protocols

Wireless Ad hoc Networks are rapidly growing in popularity because of their flexibility and wide range of applications (Indoor Communications, Intelligent Transportation, Emergency Operations, Public Safety, etc.). However, while it becomes easier to set up such networks, one of the main constraints is the heterogeneity of the nearby devices (or nodes). Moreover, it is still very difficult to make them communicate if these nodes use different routing protocols. In this paper, we present a novel approach that makes use of layer 3 protocols to guarantee interoperability between networks. We introduce the notion of Strip Interoperability, a new mechanism that aims to address this problem by creating a bridge between heterogeneous wireless ad hoc networks. An implementation of our approach through a real case study is shown to illustrate the applicability of our mechanism.