Paving the way towards delivering messages based on user interests in OppNets

We present the Interest-based Routing protocol (IRP), a new routing strategy for Opportunistic Networks based on learning about the users' real-time changing interest in different topics. IRP uses these users' interests to identify the messages' destinations, and as these destinations can change at any time, to make forwarding and delivery decisions according to it. Learning about interests at every opportunistic contact allows IRP to build a perception of the interest that may exist in the network and to use it to make forwarding decisions to relay messages when and where there is interest in a topic. This perception is also used to intelligently manage the buffer to remove only messages that have low interest when space is required. To evaluate IRP, we designed a scenario located in Barcelona. Then, we ran a set of simulations, studied the performance of our proposal and compared it with other opportunistic algorithms. In them, IRP delivered the higher number of messages and relayed the lower number.