METHOD OF ADAPTATION OF BATMAN PROTOCOL FOR BLE L3 MESH NETWORK
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28925/2663-4023.2026.32.1206Keywords:
BATMAN, BLE mesh, routing, IoT, flooding, OGM, hybrid protocol, wireless network.Abstract
The paper considers adapting the decentralized routing protocol BATMAN for use in BLE L3 mesh networks, a relevant direction for the development of wireless IoT systems with limited resources. An analysis of existing approaches to routing in BLE Mesh is conducted, and the features of BATMAN's operation and its modern implementation, BATMAN-adv, are also investigated. It is established that the classical protocol model, focused on the L2 level and supporting bidirectional connections, cannot be directly transferred to the BLE environment due to technology limitations, in particular, the lack of native unicast, the small size of advertising packets, and the lack of delivery confirmation. An approach to adapting BATMAN for BLE L3 is proposed, based on controlled flooding for data and OGM service message transmission. The structures of packets encapsulated in advertising messages, as well as a mechanism for evaluating route quality based on OGM statistics, are developed. Particular attention is paid to selecting optimal scanning and advertising parameters, which significantly affect network efficiency and packet loss. The work also proposes a hybrid routing model that combines proactive and reactive approaches. Computer modeling using Python scripts was performed, enabling us to study network behavior under different parameter configurations, including node count, mobility, and traffic intensity. The results showed that the hybrid mode provides more stable data transmission delay and significantly reduces service traffic compared to purely proactive and reactive protocols. In particular, in balanced networks, the amount of service traffic is reduced by up to 1.4 times compared to the proactive approach and by up to 22 times compared to the reactive one. The results obtained confirm the possibility of effective adaptation of the BATMAN protocol for BLE mesh networks while maintaining its main advantages‒decentralization, scalability, and resistance to topology changes. The proposed approach can serve as a basis for building energy-efficient, reliable next-generation IoT networks.
Downloads
References
Singh, U., Sharma, S. K., Shukla, M., & Jha, P. (2024). Blockchain-based BATMAN protocol using mobile ad hoc network (MANET) with an ensemble algorithm. International Journal of Information Security, 23(3), 1667–1677. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10207-023-00804-w
Kiran, K., Kaushik, N. P., Sharath, S., Shenoy, P. D., Venugopal, K. R., & Prabhu, V. T. (2018). Experimental evaluation of BATMAN and BATMAN-Adv routing protocols in a mobile testbed. In 2018 IEEE Region 10 Conference (TENCON) (pp. 1538–1543). https://doi.org/10.1109/TENCON.2018.8650222
Yilmaz, I., Jagadeesan, A. P., Zhang, J., Rischke, J., Nguyen, G. T., & Fitzek, F. H. P. (2025). Evaluation of end-to-end connection recovery after traffic path disruption in BATMAN mesh networks. In 2025 IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (WCNC) (pp. 1–5). https://doi.org/10.1109/WCNC61545.2025.10978701
Hortelano, D., Olivares, T., Ruiz, M., Garrido-Hidalgo, C., & López, V. (2017). From sensor networks to Internet of Things: Bluetooth Low Energy as a standard for this evolution. Sensors, 17(2), 372. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17020372
Darroudi, S., & Gomez, C. (2017). Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networks: A survey. Sensors, 17(7), 1467. https://doi.org/10.3390/s17071467
Baert, M., Rossey, J., Shahid, A., & Hoebeke, J. (2018). The Bluetooth mesh standard: An overview and experimental evaluation. Sensors, 18(8), 2409. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18082409
Darroudi, S. M., Gomez, C., & Crowcroft, J. (2020). Bluetooth Low Energy mesh networks: A standards perspective. IEEE Communications Magazine, 58(4), 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.001.1900523
Wang, L., Li, J., & Li, M. (2024). A rapid flooding approach based on adaptive delay and low-power sleep for BLE mesh networks. IEEE Access, 12, 65323–65332. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2024.3398348
Villa, D., Lin, C.-K., Kuenzi, A., & Lang, M. (2022). Bluetooth Low Energy mesh network for power-limited, robust and reliable IoT services. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2208.04050
Belli, A., Esposito, M., Raggiunto, S., Palma, L., & Pierleoni, P. (2025). Relaying mechanisms in BLE mesh networks: A method for improving latency and reliability. IEEE Internet of Things Journal, 12(12), 22282–22297. https://doi.org/10.1109/JIOT.2025.3550831
Mohammed, H. S., Mustafa, H. K., & Abdulkareem, O. A. (2025). Enhancing wireless sensor networks with Bluetooth Low Energy mesh and ant colony optimization algorithm. Algorithms, 18(9), 571. https://doi.org/10.3390/a18090571
Lin, J., Liu, Z., & Dai, J. (2019). Research and optimization of wireless mesh network routing protocol with multiple criteria. In 2019 IEEE Advanced Information Technology, Electronic and Automation Control Conference (IAEAC) (pp. 72–78). https://doi.org/10.1109/IAEAC47372.2019.8997932
Fehnker, A., Chaudhary, K., & Mehta, V. (2018). Improving the B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol through formal modelling and analysis. In A. Dutle et al. (Eds.), NASA formal methods (pp. 164–178). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77935-5_12
Chache, F. M., Maxon, S., Narayanan, R. M., & Bharadwaj, R. (2021). QoS extension to a B.A.T.M.A.N.-based LoRa mesh network. In 2021 IEEE Military Communications Conference (MILCOM) (pp. 43–48). https://doi.org/10.1109/MILCOM52596.2021.9653022
M, D. (2019). Performance evaluation of routing algorithm for MANET based on machine learning techniques. Journal of Trends in Computer Science and Smart Technology, 1(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.36548/jtcsst.2019.1.003
Sliwa, B., Falten, S., & Wietfeld, C. (2019). Performance evaluation and optimization of B.A.T.M.A.N. V routing for aerial and ground-based mobile ad hoc networks. In 2019 IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC-Spring) (pp. 1–7). https://doi.org/10.1109/VTCSpring.2019.8746361
Klein, A., Braun, L., & Oehlmann, F. (2012). Performance study of the B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol in the context of asymmetric links. In 2012 IEEE WoWMoM (pp. 1–7). https://doi.org/10.1109/WoWMoM.2012.6263783
Anas, N. M., Hashim, F. K., Mohamad, H., Baharudin, M. H., & Sulong, M. P. (2015). Performance analysis of outdoor wireless mesh network using B.A.T.M.A.N. advanced. In 2015 IEEE SNPD (pp. 1–4). https://doi.org/10.1109/SNPD.2015.7176189
Nordic Semiconductor. (n.d.). Is it possible to scan and advertise at the same time? https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/f/nordic-q-a/75305/is-it-possible-to-scan-and-advertise-at-the-same-time
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Олексій Джусь, Михайло Лобур
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
