Exploring Delay Challenges with Integrated Potential-Field Routing and Back-Pressure Algorithm

Multi-hop wireless networks (MWNs) are critical for supporting diverse mobile services, including Internet and IoT applications. Their deployment flexibility and cost-effectiveness make them well-suited for industrial environments. However, achieving high throughput and low delay in such networks remains a significant challenge, particularly in the presence of network holes, areas lacking active nodes necessary for packet forwarding. In this context, we address the joint routing and scheduling problem in MWNs, specifically focusing on network holes that are often caused by irregular node deployment, which significantly degrades network performance. This paper revisits potential-field routing as a foundational model for addressing network holes. Through extensive theoretical analysis, we explore its suitability for resolving network hole challenges and introduce an enhanced version of potential-field routing that incorporates topology awareness. We propose a new joint routing and scheduling solution that not only aims to reduce delays but also maintains throughput optimality in MWNs with network holes. This solution, an enhanced version of the back-pressure algorithm, leverages the potential-field routing metric to improve delay performance, particularly in lightly-loaded regions, which are often problematic in existing models. It uniquely addresses the challenges posed by network holes, an area that has seen limited exploration in previous research. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed algorithm significantly outperforms baseline models in mitigating end-to-end delays, a notable limitation of traditional back-pressure algorithms, thus establishing it as a superior alternative.