Opportunistic networks (OppNets) are modern types of intermittently connected networks in which mobile users communicate with each other via their short-range devices to share data among interested observers. In this setting, humans are the main carriers of mobile devices. As such, this mobility can be exploited by retrieving inherent user habits, interests, and social features for the simulation and evaluation of various scenarios. Several research challenges concerning human mobility in OppNets have been explored in the literature recently. In this paper, we present a thorough survey of human mobility issues in three main groups (1) mobility characteristics, (2) mobility models and traces, and (3) mobility prediction techniques. Firstly, spatial, temporal, and connectivity properties of human motion are explored. Secondly, real mobility traces which have been captured using Bluetooth/Wi-Fi technologies or location-based social networks are summarized. Furthermore, simulation-based mobility models are categorized and state-of-the art articles in each category are highlighted. Thirdly, new human mobility prediction techniques which aim to forecast the three aspects of human mobility, i.e.; users' next walks, stay duration and contact opportunities are studied comparatively. To conclude, some major open issues are outlined.
Local administrations and governments aim at leveraging wireless communications and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to manage the city infrastructures and enhance the public services in an efficient and sustainable manner. Furthermore, they strive to adopt smart and cost-effective mobile applications to deal with major urbanization problems, such as natural disasters, pollution, and traffic congestion. Mobile crowdsourcing (MCS) is known as a key emerging paradigm for enabling smart cities, which integrates the wisdom of dynamic crowds with mobile devices to provide decentralized ubiquitous services and applications. Using MCS solutions, residents (i.e., mobile carriers) play the role of active workers who generate a wealth of crowdsourced data to significantly promote the development of smart cities. In this article, we present an overview of state-of-the-art technologies and applications of MCS in smart cities. First, we provide an overview of MCS in smart cities and highlight its major characteristics. Second, we introduce the general architecture of MCS and its enabling technologies. Third, we study novel applications of MCS in smart cities. Finally, we discuss several open problems and future research challenges in the context of MCS in smart cities.
The performance of data delivery in wireless relay networks (WRNs), such as delay-tolerant networks and device-todevice communications heavily relies on the cooperation of mobile nodes (i.e., users and their carried devices). However, selfish nodes may refuse to relay data to others or share their resources with them due to various reasons, such as resource limitations or social preferences. Meanwhile, misbehaving nodes can launch different types of internal attacks (e.g., blackhole and trustrelated attacks) to disrupt the normal operation of the network. Numerous mechanisms have been recently proposed to establish secure and efficient communications in WRNs in the presence of selfish and malicious nodes (referred as non-cooperative WRNs). In this paper, we present an in-depth survey on human-centric communication challenges and solutions in the non-cooperative WRNs that focuses on: (1) an overview of the non-cooperative WRNs and introduction to various types of node selfish and malicious behaviors, (2) the impact analysis of node selfish and malicious behaviors on the performance of data forwarding and distribution, (3) selfish and malicious node detection and defense systems, and (4) incentive mechanisms. Finally, we discuss several open problems and future research challenges.
Event-based mobile social networks (MSNs) are a special type of MSN that has an immanently temporal common feature, which allows any smart phone user to create events to share group messaging, locations, photos, and insights among participants. The emergence of Internet of Things and event-based social applications integrated with context-awareness ability can be helpful in planning and organizing social events like meetings, conferences, and tradeshows. This paper first provides review of the event-based social networks and the basic principles and architecture of event-based MSNs. Next, event-based MSNs with smartphone contained technology elements, such as context-aware mobility and multimedia sharing, are presented. By combining the feature of context-aware mobility with multimedia sharing in event-based MSNs, event organizers, and planners with the service providers optimize their capability to recognize value for the multimedia services they deliver. The unique features of the current event-based MSNs give rise to the major technology trends to watch for designing applications. These mobile applications and their main features are described. At the end, discussions on the evaluation of the event-based mobile applications based on their main features are presented. Some open research issues and challenges in this important area of research are also outlined.
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