Design and Applications of A Smooth Mobility Model for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Existing mobility models used in the simulation tools have two major limitations. First, these models invoke unrealistic moving behaviors, such as sudden stop and sharp turn during the simulation. Hence, the study of mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) based on these models could lead to wrong conclusions. Second, because the node speed and direction do not change within each movement, they are insufficient to mimic the minute moving behaviors of mobile users. Therefore, we design a novel smooth mobility model, which can characterize the real-life moving behaviors of mobile users in accordance with the physical law of a smooth motion. Moreover, we apply the smooth model to evaluate the routing performance and network connectivity of MANETs. Compared with the most commonly used mobility model, random waypoint (RWP) model, we find that the routing performance and network connectivity evaluation based on the RWP model is over optimistic. To demonstrate the applications of the smooth model, we present the easy adaptation of the smooth model to group mobility and geographic restrictions