Distributed clustering algorithms in group-based ad hoc networks

For dense ad hoc networks, clustering is an appropriate strategy for improving scalability. Moreover, dense networks such as public safety or military networks are also structured through a hierarchical organization via operational groups. This organization usually impacts both the mobility of nodes which move in group, and the data flow since the traffic is mainly intra-group rather than inter-group. In this work, we extend two distributed clustering algorithms, GDMAC and VOTE, by taking into account the group structure. Our simulations of dense ad hoc networks show that our extensions lead to a lower end-to-end communication delay and offer a better stability to mobility.