News & Events

Discover a fundamentally new MANET approach that uses TrellisWare’s unique Barrage Relay™ technology

Let’s face it, the promises of Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (MANET) are very appealing: a wireless network that is decentralized, does not rely on infrastructure, supports a variety of applications in a range of environments, and is suitable for mission-critical operations. MANETs are self-forming and self-healing networks that allow radio nodes to move around freely as the network topology changes, providing ubiquitous connectivity to all users.

However, the challenges that MANETs face when used in real tactical environments can limit their effectiveness. These include limited spectrum, high mobility, harsh RF conditions such as multipath fading, diverse missions, and frequent re-tasking and reorganization of network nodes. Traditional MANETs relay information in a multi-hop fashion, where each node acts as a router to forward traffic to other nodes in the network. This use of IP routing requires constant tracking of the links between all radio nodes. When fielded in real tactical environments where things change continually, the management of these radio links creates significant overhead, especially as the network increases in size. The result is poor scalability, low reliability, and high network complexity—often requiring gateway radios to stitch groups together.

TrellisWare’s Barrage Relay technology with its unique design introduces an alternative MANET approach that outperforms these traditional routing-based MANETs. Barrage Relay networking is non-routing, it assumes no supporting infrastructure, and it requires only minimal network knowledge. Barrage Relay is digital signal processing, it is a networking and waveform solution ideal for use in Software Defined Radios (SDR) and not dependent on unique hardware for optimization. Since Barrage Relay eliminates the need for routing protocols, it allows for constant mobility and massive scalability with very low overhead.

Barrage Relay networking was designed with a robust physical layer that incorporates receive-side collaborative combining techniques to handle extreme RF multipath fading and enable simultaneous relaying of all transmissions, including voice, data, video, and Position Location Information (PLI).  Barrage Relay enables massive scalability and extremely fast network adaptability. With network join time less than 1 second and network formation/merge time of less than 5 seconds, Barrage Relay supports true tactical agility required for real world deployment.

TrellisWare’s family of radio products use the TSM™ waveform, with Barrage Relay technology at its core. TSM is a true waveform designed to provide high throughput, range, scalability, and mobility. Since mission critical situations do not take place in controlled, static, or pre-planned environments, TSM is engineered to perform and solve tactical MANET challenges, providing reliable communications When Nothing Else Works™.

Join us at TechNet Augusta where together we open the lines of communication by promoting advanced MANET technology through networking and problem solving. Visit us at booth #815 August 20-23 in Augusta, GA.

Resources: