Protocol Self Organization in Medium Access Control Layer: a Novel Framework of Medium Access Control Self Organization for Wireless Ad Hoc and Sensor Networks

The objective of this work is to investigate the role of protocol self organization at the Medium Access Control Layer in wireless ad hoc and sensor networks. While the traditional wired networks continue to enjoy relatively stable operating environments, the emerging wireless and sensor networks suffer from the operating instabilities of adjusting operating parameters and state machine logic due to their ad hoc deployments, specialized applications and various resource constraints. In order to utilize protocol reorganization to mitigate the instability effects, we propose a MAC self organization framework for both intra-MAC and inter- MAC. For intra-MAC, we develop an In-band Self- Organized MAC (ISOMAC) with a novel in-band control mechanism. A cross-layer approach, Minimized Slot Misordered Routing (MSMR) is also developed. For validation and extension of the ISOMAC framework, an application adaptation, Vehicular Self-Organizing MAC (VeSOMAC), in vehicular networks is investigated. Finally, we propose an inter-MAC self organization framework in the form of dynamic MAC protocol switching to accomplish the reorganization across multiple protocols.