Achievement Award 2013

Achievement Award

Leading Research and Development of Ad-hoc and Wireless Mesh Networks

Kenichi Mase

　It will be convenient and useful to communicate in a local area without having to depend on communication infrastructures such as conventional telecommunication networks. One possible way to meet such needs is to form a network out of mobile terminals only. This networking concept is called “ad-hoc networks” and is closely related to wireless mesh networks in its use of wireless multi-hop communication. These concepts provide a challenging research field that embraces such issues as autonomous control, reliability, and scalability.
　The recipient, as the leading researcher in the field of ad-hoc and wireless mesh networks, has played a central role over many years and has been responsible for outstanding achievements in the development of base technologies(1) and applications in the area of disaster recovery through his remarkable concepts and strong, enthusiastic leadership.
　From 2004 through 2008, he led development and construction of one of the world's most significant outdoor ad-hoc and wireless mesh network testbeds, comprising more than 90 nodes (Fig. 1)(2), (3). Using this testbed, he organized a joint experiment involving 11 organizations from industry, academia, and government, and succeeded in realizing stable operation of ad-hoc networks in 2005. He was actively involved in IETF standardization of an ad-hoc network routing protocol and OLSRv2, and he contributed to standardization activities, including investigation of protocol specification and development of an OLSRv2 implementation. In 2006, he invited an international team (France, U.S.A., Norway, Canada, and Japan) to participate in a multinational joint experiment on conducting interoperability testing among the OLSRv2 implementations developed by those members, and thus he contributed significantly to promotion of standardization activities. Moreover, in 2006, he led development of the OLSRv2 simulation program on the network simulator, QualNet, of U.S. Scalable Network Technologies. Through these activities, he has contributed to progress in practical research and development in this field.

Fig. 1 Large-scale outdoor testbed covering Niigata University Ikarashi campus.

　 In 2006, he advocated the concept of assuring communication within as well as out of disaster-affected areas by forming an aerial ad-hoc network, called “Skymesh,” supported by multiple balloons, each set up at a shelter, with a satellite earth station at one of the shelters during disaster recovery, and he led the experiments used to demonstrate this idea(4). This pioneering achievement came ahead of several subsequent announcements of similar concepts by industrial organizations in Japan and the U.S.A. He has also advocated the concept of using electric vehicles in conjunction with small, unmanned electric helicopters for surveillance over wide disaster-affected areas, with the spent motor-powering batteries of the helicopters being recharged by the large-capacity batteries of the electric vehicles. This novel idea is attracting worldwide attention(5), (6). In addition, he advocated the concept of message communication between those in the shelters, with only paper sheets and pencils available, and those with rich Internet environments outside the disaster-affected areas, under the limited bandwidth of communication channels available at the shelters. He developed this service, termed “Shelter Communication Service" (7) in 2010.
　 In 2006, he led construction of a wireless mesh network and provided an Internet connection service in the small village of Yamakoshi, which was severely hit by the Mid-Niigata Prefecture Earthquake in 2004, with the aim of supporting reconstruction of the village. On the occasion of the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, he constructed a wireless multi-hop network for accessing the Internet and provided the Shelter Communication Service to those in shelters in the Miyato area of Higashi-Matsushima City, in response to a request from the mayor. This activity demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed service, highlighted various issues for further study and development（Fig. 2）(5), and attracted interest among research and social communities both in and outside of Japan.

Fig. 2　Wireless multi-hop network constructed in Higashi-Matsushima City to provide the Shelter Communication Service.

　 In December 2003, he established a consortium on the ad-hoc network platform comprising 27 organizations from industry, academia, and government, and aimed at promoting research and development, international standardization, and industry application of ad-hoc networks. While serving as chairperson of this consortium until March 2013, he contributed to promotion of joint research, creation of research projects, and promotion of technology development and industrialization in this field.
　As described above, the recipient has demonstrated outstanding leadership in the development of prominent ad-hoc and wireless mesh network testbeds, and in promotion of practical research and development. He has received several prestigious awards, including IEEE Fellow in 2005, IEEE CQR (Communications Quality and Reliability) Chairman's Award in 2010, and the Ninth International Conference on Networking and Services Best Paper Award in 2013. He has also had the honor of being invited to present a series of invited papers and talks(2), (5), (7), (8)-(10). These achievements are highly outstanding and truly deserving of the IEICE Achievement Award.

References

(１)　K. Mase, “Layer3 Wireless Mesh Networks: Mobility Management Issues,”vol.49, no.7, IEEE Communications Magazine, pp.156-163, 2011.
(２)　S. Obana, B. Komiyama, and K. Mase, “Test-Bed Based Research on Ad Hoc Networks in Japan,” IEICE Transactions on Communications, vol.E88-B, no.6, pp.3508-3514, 2005.
(３)　K. Mase, Y. Owada, H. Okada, and T. Imai, “A Testbed-based Approach to Develop Layer 3 Wireless Mesh Network Protocols,” International Conference on Testbeds and Research Infrastructures for the Development of Networks & Communications, March 2008.
(４)　H. Okada, H. Oka, and K. Mase, “Network Construction Management for Emergency Communication System SKYMESH in Large Scale Disaster,” IEEE International Workshop on Management of Emerging Networks and Services, pp.875-880, 2012.
(５)　K. Mase, “Information and Communication Technology and Electric Vehicles - Paving the Way towards a Smart Community,” IEICE Transactions on Communications, vol.E95-B, no.6, pp.1902-1910, June 2012
(６)　K. Mase and T. Saito,“Electric-Vehicle-based Ad Hoc Networking and Surveillance for Disaster Recovery - Proposal of Three-Dimensional Mobile Surveillance Using Electric Helicopters,” Ninth International Conference on Networking and Services, March 2013.
(７)　K. Mase, “How to Deliver Your Message From/To Disaster Area,” IEEE Communications Magazine, vol.50, no.1, pp.52-57, Jan. 2011.
(８)　K. Mase, M. Sengoku, and S. Shinoda, “A Perspective on Next-Generation Ad Hoc Networks - A Proposal for an Open Community Network-,” IEICE Transactions on Fundamentals, vol.E84-A, no.1, pp.98-106, 2001.
(９)　K. Mase, “The Electric Vehicle-A Sacred Treasure Supporting a Smart Community,” Fifth International Conference on Mobile Computing and Ubiquitous Networking (ICMU 2012), May 2012.
(10)　K. Mase, “Wide-Area Real-Time Surveillance Using Electric Vehicles and Helicopters for Disaster Recovery,” International Conference on Computing, Networking and Communication (ICNC2014), Feb. 2014.