Position-Based Relaying with Hybrid-ARQ for Efficient Ad Hoc Networking

This paper presents and analyzes an integrated, cross-layer protocol for wireless ad hoc networking that utilizes position location (e.g., through an onboard GPS receiver) and jointly performs the operations of network-layer relaying and link-layer ARQ-based error control. The protocol is a modified version of the hybrid-ARQ-based intra-cluster geographically-informed relaying (HARBINGER) protocol (2005) and unifies the concepts of geographic random forwarding (GeRaF) (2003), point-to-point hybrid-ARQ (2001), and cooperative diversity (2004). The modification makes the protocol especially suitable for sensor networks whose nodes cycle in and out of sleep states and permits a closed-form analysis. Performance bounds and simulations indicate the potential for a dramatic improvement in the tradeoff between active node density and end-to-end message delay as compared with the GeRaF protocol and are used to motivate further study of practical implementation issues.