Bluetooth Smart Nodes for Mobile Ad-hoc Networks

In this paper, we describe the deployment of large mobile ad-hoc networks using standard components. The design, implementation and operation of distributed, self-organized, large scale, mobile communication and infor- mation systems poses many interesting research problems. While a lot of questions devoted to algorithmic and architectural aspects are already being pursued, few have actually deployed such systems to the extents envisioned. We present Bluetooth Smart Nodes, each of which can store information, compute and communicate using stan- dard wireless interfaces on a limited resource platform. These wireless enabled small devices can interact in a heterogeneous environment consisting of different types of networking nodes as well as with other wireless enabled appliances. Important requirements and design tradeoffs to be able to support multiple communication interfaces, handle limited resources, power aware operation and efficient testbed deployment are discussed. The BTnodes are integrated into our MANET application and networking framework. Demo applications give an insight into usage scenarios envisioned for future architectural explorations.