Digital Technologies
151
Keywords
Communication algorithms, distributed networks,
random graphs, social networks, energy
conservation, mobile agents
With the arrival of the internet, then the phenomenal
growth of dynamic and social networks, the digital world
is full of ad-hoc, unplanned, extremely large and highly
dynamic networks, both physical and virtual.
No-one ever expected the internet to get quite so big, but
its sheer size and volume of traffic is creating problems;
we urgently need more robust, universal and inexpensive
communication network protocols. The purpose of
these protocols is to support basic network integrity
mechanisms, as well as more dedicated tasks such
as information dissemination, aggregation methods,
network search and discovery, network monitoring
and others.
Our novel algorithms can support and improve efficient
communication protocols. Our research is also learning
more about the nature of networks based on the patterns
of their connections. We are discovering how information
is communicated in tangible networks, but also through
hidden transmission pathways, for example social
networks and human interaction.
Our expertise in information management offers
solutions to many everyday problems encountered in the
digital world. For example, we have created algorithms
to lower energy consumption in large scale and in highly
integrated network environments. Algorithms with
predictive power can also anticipate the movement of
wireless devices in a mobile network making it easy to
keep track of where devices are located.
We also design efficient communication protocols and
methods for motion planning in mobile networks. These
can be applied to improve mobile wireless networks and
traffic control protocols, model the behaviour of biological
systems and manage teams of robots.
We are looking for industrial partners keen to
exploit the newest developments in theories of net-
works, distributed computing, energy conservation
algorithms, and managing teams of mobile entities.
2.5
Communication networks
