Nano-Sim: simulating electromagnetic-based nanonetworks in the Network Simulator 3

The progress of nanotechnology is paving the way to the emerging concept of wireless nanosensor network (WNSN). In fact, it is now possible to create integrated machines at the nano scale, which interact on cooperative basis using wireless communications. The research in this field is still in an embryonal stage and the design of the WNSN protocol suite represents a fundamental issue to address. Therefore, an open source simulation framework for WNSN would be highly beneficial to let research activities converge towards participated design methodologies. In an our recent work, we presented a new NS-3 module, namely Nano-Sim, modeling WNSNs based on electromagnetic communications in the Terahertz band. In its preliminary version, Nano-Sim provides a simple network architecture and a protocol suite for such an emerging technology. In this paper, we significantly improved our previous work in several directions. First, we have extended the tool by developing a new routing algorithm and a more efficient MAC protocol. Moreover, focusing the attention on a WNSN operating in a health monitoring scenario, we have investigated how the density of nodes, the transmission range of nanomachines, and the adoption of specific combinations of routing and MAC strategies may affect the network behavior. Finally, a study on Nano-Sim computational requirements has been also carried out, thus demonstrating how the developed module guarantees great achievements in terms of scalability.