An Overview of The Toilers: An Ad Hoc Networks Research Group

Assoc. Prof. Tracy Camp

The Colorado School of Mines.

Fri Mar 03 15:10:00 NZDT 2006 in Room 031, MSCS

Abstract

The Toilers are a unique group of faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates who research ad hoc networks, specifically wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). These types of networks are defined by a lack of a fixed infrastructure, multi-hop communication, unreliable wireless links, and decisions made based on local knowledge. Overcoming these challenges presents several open research questions, such as energy-efficient routing, in-network processing, adaptive behavior, and security. Applications of WSNs and MANETs are diverse, and include environmental monitoring, structural monitoring, search and rescue, and tracking.

This talk will present highlights of past successes, current research challenges, and future directions of the Toilers. In the past, the Toilers have invented, implemented, and compared MANET protocols. We have shared simulation code developed by Toiler members with more than 559 researchers at 307 research labs/universities in 43 countries during the previous four years.

Presently, the Toilers are exploring projects which have an interdisciplinary theme. In conjunction with civil, environmental, and electrical engineering, we are developing WSNs to improve the geoconstruction process. Two distinct projects aim to break down the barriers between the network and link layers, and between the link and physical layers.

Looking forward, the Toilers plan to advance theory and practice. For example, we are defining effective practices to improve the confidence in simulation results of ad hoc networks. This talk will present an overview of the Toilers past, present, and future projects, while tying them to the themes of ad hoc network research.

Brief Biography

Tracy Camp is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Colorado School of Mines. She is the Director of Toilers, an active research group in self-organizing networks (http://toilers.mines.edu). Dr. Camp has received 12 grants from NSF, including a CAREER award in 1997. She has published over 50 refereed articles and 9 invited articles, many of which are in prestigious venues such as Mobicom and Mobihoc. Dr. Camp is a member of the Ad Hoc Networks Journal editorial board and has been on the program committee of several conferences, including Mobicom, ICDCS, ICPADS, WCNC, LCN, AdHocNow, and MSN.