Mesh Networking

Deep dive into the ad-hoc routing and physical layer of pigeon-to-pigeon delivery.

Physical Layer

anon0mesh is transport-agnostic but optimized for low-bandwidth, long-range connection types. By combining consumer mobile hardware with long-range radio, we create a truly redundant network.

• BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy): Powered by the @magicred1/ble-mesh library, functioning in dual-mode (Central + Peripheral) for peer discovery within 10–100m.
• LoRa (Sub-GHz Radio): Long-range communication (2–10km per hop) via Meshtastic-compatible hardware (ESP32, nRF52).
• WiFi P2P: High-bandwidth direct connections for large data synchronization.

BLE Mesh Layer

The BLE stack is the foundation of short-range communication. Devices operate in a coordinated pattern of role cycling—alternating between advertisement (Peripheral) and scanning (Central) windows to maximize discovery while staying within OS constraints.

Multi-Hop Relaying (Path A)

Known as Pure Mesh, this path relies solely on smartphones. When a node receives a packet not addressed to itself, it decrements the Time-to-Live (TTL) counter and rebroadcasts it. This store-and-forward mesh allows messages to propagate through physical space via 100m bluetooth jumps.

Binary Packet Format

Each network packet is a compact binary structure designed for high reliability over lossy links:

struct AnonMeshPacket {
  uint128 packet_id;      // Unique UUID
  uint256 source_pk;      // Ed25519 PubKey
  uint256 dest_pk;        // Ed25519 PubKey
  uint8   ttl;            // Time-to-Live
  uint64  relay_fee;      // Optional Tip (lamports)
  uint8   payload[];      // AES-256-GCM Encrypted
}

LoRa / Meshtastic Radio Bridge (Path B)

For long-range delivery (10km+), anon0mesh creates a Radio Bridge. This bridges the Meshtastic routing layer to the anon0mesh packet format, so a LoRa node can act as a transparent relay between distant BLE clusters.

The Requirement: Because phones cannot natively beam signal 10km, you need to be within 100m of a portable radio node, which then converts the BLE signal to sub-GHz radio waves.

Repository: github.com/anon0mesh/firmware-anonmesh-plugin

Hardware Support

The firmware runs on ESP32 and nRF52-based LoRa hardware, inheriting Meshtastic's broad support matrix.

• ESP32: Heltec V3, TTGO T-Beam, RAK Wireless (RAK4631).
• nRF52: Seeed WIO Tracker, RAK4630.
• Bands: Sub-GHz ISM (433/868/915 MHz).

Note: A custom Meshtastic module bridges the routing layer, so a LoRa node acts as a transparent relay between distant BLE clusters. Peer announcements follow the Meshtastic channel protocol extended with anon0mesh capability flags.

Self-Healing Architecture

The anon0mesh network is designed to be restless and resilient. Because every device acts as a router, the network can "heal" itself in real-time as people move around.

• Dynamic Pathfinding: If a specific phone (relay) leaves the area, the network automatically finds a new path through another nearby device without any user intervention.
• Gossip Protocol: Nodes constantly share "health" updates about their neighbors. If a path becomes congested or broken, the mesh reroutes traffic through "quieter" or more stable nodes.
• Redundancy: Messages are often sent via multiple paths simultaneously, ensuring they reach their destination even if half the network suddenly disappears.

Network Topology

The anon0mesh network is a self-healing, decentralized topology. Every node (participant) acts as both a user and a relay, ensuring that data can find its path to a gateway even in the most disconnected environments.