Roaming DTN: Integrating Unscheduled Nodes into Contact Plan Based DTN Networks

Current space DTN networks rely on the assumption that all node movements in relation to each other are able to be summarized ahead of time. These movements are stored in the form of static contact plans, which each node independently uses to inform its own routing decisions. However this method of routing falls short in the face of nodes with inherently unpredictable movements. In this paper, we explore preliminary work on how space DTN networks can be augmented to handle both scheduled nodes and autonomously moving unscheduled nodes. In particular, we introduce Roaming DTN (RDTN), a system that enables unpredictable nodes to communicate over a reliable network backbone. In addition, we tackle the issue of autonomous nodes navigating to remote areas with no connectivity, and how radio localization techniques may be used to alleviate this issue. We showcase experimental results examining this system’s feasibility and compare it to alternative routing methods.