A Routing Method for Flying Ad Hoc Networks Based on Node Degree Estimation and Game-Theoretic Forwarding Strategy

Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been widely applied in military, commercial, and scientific research. Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) represent a novel type of self-organizing network that organizes UAVs in an ad hoc manner. These networks exhibit characteristics such as frequent topology changes, high mobility, and limited energy. When the network density is high, these factors pose significant challenges to the design of routing methods for ad hoc networks. This paper proposes a DBSMT routing protocol for Flying Ad Hoc Networks based on node degree estimation and a static game-theoretic forwarding strategy. The protocol employs a node degree estimation algorithm to calculate the node degree, thereby avoiding network congestion caused by periodic Hello message broadcasts. Additionally, it reduces the number of nodes forwarding routing requests through a game-theoretic forwarding strategy. Furthermore, DBSMT utilizes a method called Sector Selection Technique when selecting a set of candidate UAVs to determine the next-hop UAV in the routing process. Simulation results demonstrate that DBSMT reduces the average end-to-end delay, improves packet delivery ratio, and enhances throughput.