Complex Adaptive Networks for Computing and Communication

The focus of this research is Self-Organizing Networks (SONs) which are common in emergency communications, vehicle and people tracking, remote surveillance and control systems, personal networking and vehicular communications. A SON is a type of network that has the capability to look at its own internal structure, analyze it and make decisions that improve the quality of the communication services it provides to its users. This research team addresses issues specific to SONs such as data management, network performance, routing efficiency and security of communications in wireless sensor networks. In the past year the team developed new strategies that will minimize frequency search time for cell phones and speed up call establishment time, devised a procedure that determines the appropriate level of power to use when a mobile device joins a network and developed new ways to speed up the transfer procedure from one base station to another when cell phones change locations.