Mobile Ad hoc networks (MANETs) for multimedia transmission

TitleMobile Ad hoc networks (MANETs) for multimedia transmission
Publication TypeArticle in Encyclopedia
Year of Publication2015
AuthorsGkamas, A, Bouras, C, Kioumourtzis, G
Secondary TitleEncyclopedia of Information Science and Technology
Volume9
Section614
Edition3rd
Pagination6239-6248
PublisherEncyclopedia of Information Science and Technology (3rd Ed.), IGI Global
Abstract

Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) are becoming more essential to wireless communications due to growing popularity of mobile devices. A node in MANETs could act as a router while having also the possibility of being the sender or receiver of information. MANETs offer the freedom to use mobile devices and move independently of the location of base stations (and outside their coverage) with the help of other network devices. The ability of MANETs to be self-configured and form a mobile mesh network, by using wireless links, make them very suitable for a number of cases that other type of networks cannot operate. In addition, MANETs do not require vast technological investments. An ideal application area for the utilization of MANET technology is for instance any disaster scenario in which the fixed infrastructure is incapacitated or non-existent. In this case it is important to ensure that a suitable communication solution is established within the very first critical hours of an incident, considering national or cross-border emergency incidents. What is missing, however, from this type of networks is the so called a “killer application” that could boost its utilizations in the real world. Real time multimedia applications have the potential to turn MANETs into a very attractive solution in wireless networks taking into account its unique characteristics. Our motivation for this article is to present the shortcomings and the current state of the art in MANETs in regards to the transmission of multimedia data, which is a promising application area.

Citation Key3434