C2 at the edge: operating in a disconnected low-bandwidth environment

Abstract

A practical solution to providing effective command, control, and communications (C3) information from the warfighting commander to the edge of the battle space involves using light-weight, handheld devices connected on wireless networks; however, infrastructure-based wireless networks, especially at the edge, are characterized by wildly fluctuating bandwidth, intermittent connectivity, and unreliable connectedness of mobile clients. Combat units require connectivity of smart devices that is resilient to the dynamic changes of network topology yet can still provide timely dissemination of communications and intelligence so that warfighters may succeed on the battlefield. This thesis aims to create a communications network of smart devices, using their embedded Bluetooth communications capability. This thesis tests the throughput of the system at the maximum connection distances between devices. It explores the systems capability to properly process and forward network and communications traffic. Lastly, it evaluates the system’s ability to adjust to device connection loss while maintaining connections already established and rebuilding connections with devices within connectivity range. The developed application offers a communications network that adapts to device loss by adjusting the network topology while still providing the users with real-time chat capability of all locally available devices.