Abstract
Trajectory based forwarding (TBF) is a novel method to forward packets in a dense ad hoc network that makes it possible to route a packet along a predefined curve. It is a generalization of source based routing and Cartesian forwarding in that the trajectory is set by the source, but the forwarding decision is based on the relationship to the trajectory rather than the final destination. The fundamental aspect of TBF is that it decouples path naming from the actual path, thereby providing a common framework for applications such as: flooding, unicast, multicast and multipath routing, and discovery in ad hoc networks. TBF requires that nodes know their position relative to a coordinate system. While a global coordinate system afforded by a system such as GPS would be ideal, in this paper we propose Local Positioning System (LPS), a method that only positions the nodes along the trajectory, by making use of other node capabilities, such as angle of arrival or range estimations, compasses and accelerometers. We explore several forwarding strategies that are appropriate for these node capabilities.