Research in the field of wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks is continuing to produce advances, both in fundamental communication among multiple wireless nodes and in application areas that include wireless mesh networks, vehicular ad-hoc networks, and many fields in which wireless sensor networks are proving their worth. Advances in the field range from purely theoretical, through many intermediate levels, all the way to determinedly practical. Specific research issues include better routing, MAC, and transport layers, physical layer(s) and their use, application-specific protocols and algorithms, cross-layer protocol design, mobility, security, scalability, reliability, node configuration and auto configuration, overall cost or energy efficiency, and specific novel applications of wireless ad-hoc networks and wireless sensor networks.

The defining property of wireless ad hoc and sensor networks is the use of wireless nodes to produce, consume, and relay data on a flexible, as-needed basis appropriate for the intended application. Although some nodes may be connected to a wider Internet, the focus of the wireless ad hoc network or wireless sensor network is the communication among generally equivalent nodes. To support the needed flexibility, the networks nodes must generally work together and self-regulate without much central control or direction, and without substantial human intervention.

This minitrack is focused on the issues that arise in designing useful wireless sensor and ad-hoc networks. While many such networks so far have been relatively small scale, it is interesting and useful to study what happens when network sizes grow to very large sizes, as is projected for the future. Such growth can be in overall number of nodes, in network diameter, in network density, or in other metrics.

This minitrack is a successor to the Wireless Sensor Networks and Applications minitrack held at HICSS from 2005 to 2009.

Specific research topics of interest for this minitrack include, but are not limited to:

• networking issues, including physical, MAC, routing, transport, application, or cross-layer protocols and algorithms;
• novel applications of wireless ad-hoc networks or wireless sensor networks;
• theoretical issues of interest to wireless ad-hoc or sensor networks, including communications, energy consumption, scalability, network analysis, node location and coordination;
• communications and node security, network management, data visualization, and new and better ways of performing node localization or dealing with position uncertainty;
• novel implementations, significant deployments, hardware, or software, and measurement or modeling of wireless networks;
• wireless sensor networks, other wireless ad-hoc networks, wireless mesh networks, mixed wireless ad-hoc and wired networks, and other specialized applications such as vehicular ad-hoc networks.

About the Conference

The Hawaii International Conference for Systems Sciences (HICSS) has been held since 1967. This year's conference is held at the The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, on the northernmost Hawaiian Island, the Garden Isle of Kauai. The hotel is 15 miles (24 km) from Lihue Airport.

This mini-track on wireless sensor networks and applications is part of the Software Technology track, co-chaired by Prof. Gul Agha and Prof. Rick Kazman.

The mini-track on wireless sensor networks and applications was held at HICSS from HICSS-38, in 2005, to HICSS-42, in 2009. This mini-track has been broadened to include wireless ad-hoc networks as well as sensor networks.

Instructions for paper submission

Authors submit the full paper by June 15, 2009. For full paper preparation and submission, authors must follow the instructions available on the HICSS web site.

Papers should contain original material and not be previously published, or currently submitted for consideration elsewhere. At least one author of each accepted paper must register to attend the conference.

Important dates

1. June 15: submission of full papers.
2. August 15: acceptance notices.
3. August 29: re-submission of papers accepted with mandatory changes.
4. September 10: notification of acceptance for papers accepted with mandatory changes.
5. September 15: final version submission.
6. January 5-8, 2010: conference.

Minitrack Chairs: