A post-disaster mobility model for delay tolerant networking

Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) considers how to provide communication in contexts where it is unreasonable to assume end-to-end connectivity. Network devices exchange buffered messages when they come into communication range; messages may be buffered and carried physically several times before ultimately being received. Service characteristics of a DTN depend intimately on the underlying movement of devices through physical space; correspondingly, an assessment of DTN technology (e.g. routing protocols, message exchange policies, etc.) depends on that same movement. Existing mobility models provided in simulators lack characteristics one expects in post-disaster communication. We propose a mobility model that includes the impact of the disaster on the transportation network, and that models population and relief vehicle movement. We augment the "Opportunistic Network Environment" (ONE) simulator of DTNs with required extensions and show that characteristics of the DTN are very different using the new model than it is under models that ONE currently provides.