Modelling Opportunistic Networks: An Agent-Based Simulation of Interaction in Urban Contexts

This master's thesis aims to explore the current state of research on Opportunistic Mobile Networks (OppNets). OppNets are inherently dynamic phenomena that configure over pre-existent network structure, thus they are difficult to visualize and to think of. Through techniques of agent-based modeling, the research will outline a representation of OppNets mapping it to phenomena of social and technological interactions typical of real world networks. To do so, we consider aspects related to computational social science, phenomena of social organization and approaches to thinking that help us frame this research towards an ecological oriented framework. At an applied level, we develop a small-scale simulation in an urban context using GAMA, an open-source modeling environment leveraging Geographic Information System (GIS) data. This approach will enable us to visualize and think of Opportunistic Networks through the investigation of realistic scenarios, offering a genuine perspective on the reciprocal influence between network models and real world systems.