On the Dynamics of Human Proximity for Data Diffusion in Ad-Hoc Networks

André Panisson (1) , Alain Barrat (2, 3, 4, 5) , Ciro Cattuto (4) , Wouter van Den Broeck (4) , Giancarlo Ruffo (1) , Rossano Schifanella (1)

1 UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin
2 CPT - E5 Physique statistique et systèmes complexes
3 CPT - Centre de Physique Théorique - UMR 6207
4 ISI - Data Science Laboratory
5 CPT - Centre de Physique Théorique - UMR 7332

We report on a data-driven investigation aimed at understanding the dynamics of message spreading in a real-world dynamical network of human proximity. We use data collected by means of a proximity-sensing network of wearable sensors that we deployed at three different social gatherings, simultaneously involving several hundred individuals. We simulate a message spreading process over the recorded proximity network, focusing on both the topological and the temporal properties. We show that by using an appropriate technique to deal with the temporal heterogeneity of proximity events, a universal statistical pattern emerges for the delivery times of messages, robust across all the data sets. Our results are useful to set constraints for generic processes of data dissemination, as well as to validate established models of human mobility and proximity that are frequently used to simulate realistic behaviors.

Domaines: Réseaux et télécommunications [cs.NI]; Interface homme-machine [cs.HC]

André Panisson, Alain Barrat, Ciro Cattuto, Wouter van Den Broeck, Giancarlo Ruffo, et al.. On the Dynamics of Human Proximity for Data Diffusion in Ad-Hoc Networks. Ad Hoc Networks, 2012, 10 (8), pp.1532. ⟨10.1016/j.adhoc.2011.06.003⟩. ⟨hal-00609256⟩