Topology-aware incentive mechanism for cooperative relay networks

A properly designed incentive mechanism is important for cooperative relay networks, as it will encourage relays assisting sources' data transmissions. However, previous related studies didn't give enough consideration to the topology effect, i.e., how the network topology can substantially influence the relay selection and profit distribution in cooperations. In this paper, we quantify the topology effect in multi-source-multi-relay networks analytically, by using a multi-node Nash bargaining framework based on the network exchange theory. The proposed multinode Nash bargaining outcome guarantees not only the individual satisfaction for each node, but also the social optimality for the entire network (of all nodes). Then, we propose a distributed incentive mechanism, named as natural algorithm, which enables each node to take advantage of the network topology to reach a multi-node Nash bargaining outcome through proper source/relay selection and payment bargaining. Simulation results illustrate the profit distribution among relays and sources under different network topologies.