the difference between wi-fi direct and mobile ad-hoc networks in smart phones?

Question

I want to create a mobile ad-hoc network for android devices.But first I want to know the differences between wi-fi direct, mobile ad-hoc networks and SPANs. Could anybody explain for me?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Firstly, SPANs are just Mobile ad Hoc Networks for Smartphones, SPAN stands for Smart phone ad hoc network so we'll skip that for now.

I'm not sure what kind of depth you're looking for, but in a nutshell:

In Wifi Direct, devices negotiate each other to decide which device will act as an Access point. In Wifi direct you are trying to simulate a Wifi network, where all devices do not interact with each other. Technically, you're creating a "soft" access point on particular devices, and other devices will choose to communicate with these Soft AP's.

In Mobile Ad Hoc (MANET), you can think of every device as a mobile router. Each device is required to properly route traffic, whether it be to some device or to the internet.

EDIT* I also wanted to communicate that in MANET, every device can communicate with each other. This is a very important distinction from Wifi Direct.

Wifi Direct

Mobile Ad Hoc Network