A token-based connectivity update scheme for unmanned aerial vehicle ad hoc networks

Code division multiple access mobile ad hoc networks (CDMA-MANETs) are envisioned to be the next-generation networking architecture for networking military platforms in a battlefield. In this paper we consider a CDMA ad hoc network consisting of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We propose a token-based connectivity update scheme to solve the code collision problem in assigning code channels as well as the network link update problem for the CDMA UAV ad hoc network. Our proposed scheme uses a token message, which continuously circulates around the network in a non-predetermined order, to conduct assignment of code channels for each UAV. By using the broadcast properties of the wireless communication media, our proposed scheme is able to discover new or lost neighbors almost in real time. Moreover, the proposed token-based connectivity update scheme implements spatial reuse of code channels, which is mandatory in large-scale ad hoc networks due to the limited size of the CDMA code set. We then derive a theoretical result for approximating the connectivity update latency, which is further verified through computer simulations.