PARC: proactive protocol for routing in wireless optical ad hoc networks

The expected growth in the number of connected devices, together with the spectrum crunch in overcrowded radio bands, motivates the exploration of complementary wireless technologies. Optical Wireless Communication (OWC), including visible light systems, provides a vast unlicensed spectrum but introduces unique networking challenges: strong directionality, line-of-sight requirements, sensitivity to shadowing, and fast link intermittency due to mobility. This paper presents PARC (Proactive and Adaptive Routing Control), a proactive routing protocol designed specifically for light-based ad hoc networks (LANETs). PARC combines proactive topology dissemination with link-quality-aware route selection and adaptive control mechanisms. We evaluate PARC in ns-3 OWC scenarios ranging from static baselines to highly dynamic and high-density settings, including an additional extended stress-test with simultaneous mobility and full traffic load. Overall, PARC sustains significantly higher packet delivery and throughput than the OLSR reference protocol under challenging conditions.