Information gradient based content search architecture for mobile opportunistic network

Mobile opportunistic network provides a platform for information dissemination and content search, especially in a disaster management scenario, when there is no end-to-end reliable connection or the entire infrastructure based network is severed. In this paper we propose an architecture for content search in mobile opportunistic network, based on information gradient and query forward with the aim to minimize search time and transmission overhead. We know that in a highly dynamic network, the cost and time required to fetch information increases as the Euclidean distance from the object increases. The concept of information gradient helps in minimizing this cost, even if we are away from the source of information. Our content search protocol has three phases, viz. query submit, query forward, and query response phase. We propose a game theory based query forward strategy to maximize throughput and minimize transmission overhead. Simulation results show the performance improvement of game-theoretic approach against simple flooding.