This paper presents a new abstraction for virtual infrastructure in mobile ad hoc networks. An Autonomous Virtual Mobile Node (AVMN) is a robust and reliable entity that is designed to cope with the inherent difficulties caused by processors arriving, leaving, and moving according to their own agendas, as well as with failures and energy limitations. There are many types of applications that may make use of the AVMN infrastructure: tracking, supporting mobile users, or searching for energy sources. The AVMN extends the focal point abstraction in [9] and the virtual mobile node abstraction in [10]. The new abstraction is that of a virtual general-purpose computing entity, an automaton that can make autonomous on-line decisions concerning its own movement. We describe a self-stabilizing implementation of this new abstraction that is resilient to the chaotic behavior of the physical processors and provides automatic recovery from any corrupted state of the system. Copyright 2005 ACM.
name of conference
Proceedings of the 2005 joint workshop on Foundations of mobile computing
