Systems and methods for adaptive routing in mobile ad-hoc networks and disruption tolerant networks

A method for routing packets in a communication network, comprising

• receiving a packet at a first node in a communication network having a plurality of nodes;
• determining a route quality parameter of a communication channel between at least two of the plurality of nodes in the communication network;
• and
• selecting a protocol for transmitting the packet from the first node to at least a second node of the plurality of nodes in the communication network based on the route quality parameter, wherein selecting a protocol comprises determining whether the packet is likely to be transmitted with sufficient reliability using a first transmission protocol by comparing the route quality parameter to a threshold.

A routing process for a communication network, comprising

• receiving packets at a first node in a communication network having a plurality of nodes, the first node having a buffer and a first threshold for buffer occupancy of the buffer;
• determining a routing parameter of a communication channel between at least two of the plurality of nodes in the communication network;
• determining a prioritized list for dropping the packets based on the routing parameter;
• and
• dropping, based on the prioritized list, at least one of the packets from the first node in response to the buffer occupancy of the buffer being greater than or equal to the first threshold.