Abstract
Many biological systems are composed of unreliable components which self-organize efficiently into systems that can tackle complex problems. One such example is the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum which is an amoeba-like organism that seeks food sources and efficiently distributes nutrients throughout its cell body. The distribution of nutrients is accomplished by a self-assembled resource distribution network of small tubes with varying diameter which can evolve with changing environmental conditions without any global control. In this paper, we use a phenomenological model for the tube evolution in slime mold and map it to a path formation protocol for wireless sensor networks. By selecting certain evolution parameters in the protocol, the network may evolve toward single paths connecting data sources to a data sink. In other parameter regimes, the protocol may evolve toward multiple redundant paths. We present detailed analysis of a small model network. A thorough understanding of the simple network leads to design insights into appropriate parameter selection. We also validate the design via simulation of large-scale realistic wireless sensor networks using the QualNet network simulator.
Preliminary work of the paper appeared as a 2-page poster in the 3rd IEEE Int. Conf. on Self-Adaptive and Self-Organizing Systems (SASO 2009).
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Li, K., Thomas, K., Torres, C., Rossi, L., Shen, CC. (2010). Slime Mold Inspired Path Formation Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks. In: Dorigo, M., et al. Swarm Intelligence. ANTS 2010. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 6234. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15461-4_26
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-15461-4_26
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-15460-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-15461-4
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