A Simulation Framework for Performance Analysis of Molecular Nano Communication Networks

Nanonetworks have attracted a lot of attention over the past decade due to advances in nanotechnology and their wide range of biomedical, industrial, environmental, and military applications. Nanodevices are made up of nanoscale components and are capable of performing only simple computation, sensing, and actuation tasks. A nanonetwork is formed when nanodevices are interconnected. In a nanonetwork, nanodevices can cooperate and share information to achieve more complex tasks. Nanomachines can employ diffusion-based molecular communication as a possible, biocompatible information transport method. Unlike traditional communication techniques in which electromagnetic waves are employed as information carriers, molecules are considered as carrier signals to convey the information. For instance, a transmitter nanomachine encodes the message symbols into the molecular signals and then sends them into a fluidic propagation channel. These information molecules propagate in the medium according to Fick’s laws of diffusion, and then are received by the receiver nanomachine at which the information is decoded. In this work, a simulation framework for molecular nano communication networks will be developed. In particular, transmission, propagation channel, and the reception processes of molecules will be analyzed. The simulator will then be used to analyze specific performance metrics in a diffusion-based molecular communication network. The simulator will also provide a three-dimensional visualization of the network. Keywords: Nanonetworks, Molecular Communication, Diffusion, Simulation