Can cooperation improve energy efficiency in ad hoc wireless networks?

To make an ad hoc network work properly, wireless nodes are usually requested to cooperate in routing operations. However, there is currently a lack of behavior-tracking mechanisms, so certain nodes can freely play a selfish role at the detriment of altruistic ones. In this paper we try to answer the question in the title, by showing how cooperation can definitely help reduce the overall energy consumed in an ad hoc network. By exploiting a behavior-tracking algorithm mutuated from game theory, we allow traffic to be forwarded only towards cooperative nodes. We hence prove that we can reduce power wastage at the same time maximizing the delivery rate. With the mentioned approach, selfish nodes are isolated from the network unless they decide to start cooperating. Our experimental tests aim at verifying the quick reaction time in response to variable nodes’ behaviors as well as presenting a comparative analysis of the actual energy spent to successfully send traffic towards destinations.