Information floating (IF) permits mobile nodes to transmit information to other nodes by direct wireless communication only in transmittable areas (TAs), thus avoiding unneeded and inefficient information distribution to irrelevant areas, which is a problem with the so-called epidemic communication used in delay tolerant networks. In this paper, we propose applying IF to sensor networking to find and share available routes in disaster situations. In this proposal, IF gathers and shares information without any assistance from gateways, which is normally required for conventional wireless sensor networks. A performance evaluation based on computer simulation results is presented. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed method is effective by highlighting its advantageous properties and directly comparing it with a method based on epidemic communication. Our findings suggest that the proposed method is a promising step toward more effective countermeasures against restricted access in disaster zones.

Information floating (IF) permits mobile nodes to transmit information to other nodes by direct wireless communication only in transmittable areas (TAs), thus avoiding unneeded and inefficient information distribution to irrelevant areas, which is a problem with the so-called epidemic communication used in delay tolerant networks. In this paper, we propose applying IF to sensor networking to find and share available routes in disaster situations. In this proposal, IF gathers and shares information without any assistance from gateways, which is normally required for conventional wireless sensor networks. A performance evaluation based on computer simulation results is presented. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed method is effective by highlighting its advantageous properties and directly comparing it with a method based on epidemic communication. Our findings suggest that the proposed method is a promising step toward more effective countermeasures against restricted access in disaster zones.