Termite: ad-hoc networking with stigmergy

A biologically inspired algorithm is presented to route messages in mobile wireless ad-hoc networks. The principles of swarm intelligence are used to define a probabilistic algorithm for which routing through paths of maximum throughput is an emergent property. This adaptive algorithm, dubbed termite, uses stigmergy to reduce the amount of control traffic needed to maintain a high data goodput. Stigmergy is a process by which information is indirectly communicated between individuals through their environment The termite environment is the contents of all routing tables. The movement of packets is influenced at each node, and communicating nodes observe this influence to update their own tables. Strong routing robustness is achieved through the use of multiple paths; each packet is routed randomly and independently.