Multi-hop routing (or multihop routing) is a type of communication in radio networks in which network coverage area is larger than radio range of single nodes. Therefore, to reach some destination a node can use other nodes as relays.
Since the transceiver is the major source of power consumption in a radio node and long-distance transmission requires high power, in some cases multi-hop routing can be more energy efficient than single-hop routing.
Typical applications of multi-hop routing: Wireless sensor networks Wireless mesh networks Mobile ad hoc networks Smart phone ad hoc networks Mobile networks with stationary multi-hop relays
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