Ad hoc wireless mesh network

1. A method of operating a wireless device configured to act as a node in an ad hoc multi-hop mobile network, the method comprising:

snooping, with a wireless device, a packet transmitted from a sending node to a receiving node in a multi-hop wireless connection, the connection specifying a route through an ad hoc network, and the sending node and the receiving node being in a different location from the wireless device;

extracting from the snooped packet an identifier of the sending node and an identifier of the receiving node;

determining based on the identifier of the sending node, the identifier of the receiving node, and a record in memory of the wireless device that the wireless device is part of the route of the multi-hop wireless connection including the sending node and the receiving node;

determining a rate of change of a geographic distance between the wireless device and the sending node;

estimating a link life based on the rate of change;

comparing the estimated link life to a threshold duration before determining that the signal strength of the signal conveying the snooped packet exceeds the threshold;

determining that a signal strength of a signal conveying the snooped packet exceeds a threshold; and

wirelessly transmitting a kill packet to the sending node and the receiving node that reconfigures the multi-hop wireless connection to specify a different route through the ad hoc network that bypasses the receiving node.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving node is upstream from the wireless device in the multi-hop wireless connection, and wherein transmitting the kill packet shortens the multi-hop connection by removing the receiving node from the multi-hop route of the connection.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the snooped packet includes a timestamp generated by the sending node, and wherein the timestamp corresponds to the identifier of the sending node.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the snooped packet includes a timestamp generated by the receiving node.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining based on the identifier of the sending node, the identifier of the receiving node, and a record in memory of the wireless device that the wireless device is part of a multi-hop wireless connection including the sending node and the receiving node comprises:

determining that the timestamp is identified in a route table of the wireless device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein snooping, with a wireless device, a packet transmitted from a sending node to a receiving node in a multi-hop wireless connection comprises:

receiving the packet in a promiscuous mode of operation in which substantially all received packets are analyzed regardless of whether the packet is directly addressed to the wireless device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device comprises a geolocation sensor, and comprising:

determining to transmit the kill packet based on a location from the geolocation sensor.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining to transmit the kill packet based on the location from the geolocation sensor comprises:

determining a distance between the location and a location of the receiving node; and

determining to transmit the kill packet based on the difference.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identifier of the sending node is associated with a geolocation of the sending node obtained from the sending node.

10. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

after transmitting the kill packet, receiving transmission of packets remaining in a buffer of the receiving node directly from the receiving node;

after receiving the packets in the buffer of the receiving node, receiving packets directly from the sending node.

11. The method of claim 10 , comprising:

receiving a node-unloaded signal from the receiving node indicating that the receiving node has transmitted the packets in the buffer; and

in response to receiving the node-unloaded signal, removing the receiving node from a description of the multi-hop route in memory of the wireless device.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein each node in the multi-hop wireless connection is identified in memory of the wireless device.

13. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

receiving the kill packet with the receiving node;

transmitting remaining packets stored by the receiving node for the connection from the receiving node to the wireless device;

transmitting a signal from the receiving node indicating that the remaining packets have been transmitted;

transmitting a signal to another node in the multi-hop wireless connection indicating that the receiving node is removed from the connection; and

removing a record of the multi-hop wireless connection from memory of the receiving node.

14. The method of claim 1 , comprising:

receiving the kill packet with the sending node;

stopping transmission of packets from the sending node to the receiving node; and

transmitting an indication to another node that the receiving node is to be removed from the connection.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the kill packet is propagated in both directions of the multi-hop wireless connection from the receiving node to each node in the connection.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device shares a power supply with an oil well.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sending node, the receiving node, or the wireless device is communicatively coupled to well control or monitoring equipment, the method further comprises injecting a fluid into, or extracting a fluid from, a well controlled or monitored by the equipment.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the multi-hop wireless connection is coupled to the Internet, and wherein the snooped packet is transmitted with orthogonal frequency-division multiple access.

19. A wireless interface configured to perform operations comprising:

snooping, with a wireless device, a packet transmitted from a sending node to a receiving node in a multi-hop wireless connection, the connection specifying a route through an ad hoc network, and the sending node and the receiving node being in a different location from the wireless device;

extracting from the snooped packet an identifier of the sending node and an identifier of the receiving node;

determining based on the identifier of the sending node, the identifier of the receiving node, and a record in memory of the wireless device that the wireless device is part of the route of the multi-hop wireless connection including the sending node and the receiving node;

determining a rate of change of a geographic distance between the wireless device and the sending node;

estimating a link life based on the rate of change;

comparing the estimated link life to a threshold duration before determining that the signal strength of the signal conveying the snooped packet exceeds the threshold;

determining that a signal strength of a signal conveying the snooped packet exceeds a threshold; and

wirelessly transmitting a kill packet to the sending node and the receiving node that reconfigures the multi-hop wireless connection to specify a different route through the ad hoc network that bypasses the receiving node.

20. A tangible, non-transitory, machine-readable medium storing instructions that when executed by a data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

snooping, with a wireless device, a packet transmitted from a sending node to a receiving node in a multi-hop wireless connection, the connection specifying a route through an ad hoc network, and the sending node and the receiving node being in a different location from the wireless device;

extracting from the snooped packet an identifier of the sending node and an identifier of the receiving node;

determining based on the identifier of the sending node, the identifier of the receiving node, and a record in memory of the wireless device that the wireless device is part of the route of the multi-hop wireless connection including the sending node and the receiving node;

determining a rate of change of a geographic distance between the wireless device and the sending node;

estimating a link life based on the rate of change;

comparing the estimated link life to a threshold duration before determining that the signal strength of the signal conveying the snooped packet exceeds the threshold;

determining that a signal strength of a signal conveying the snooped packet exceeds a threshold; and

wirelessly transmitting a kill packet to the sending node and the receiving node that reconfigures the multi-hop wireless connection to specify a different route through the ad hoc network that bypasses the receiving node.

21. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the receiving node is upstream from the wireless device in the multi-hop wireless connection, and wherein transmitting the kill packet shortens the multi-hop connection by removing the receiving node from the multi-hop route of the connection.

22. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the snooped packet includes a timestamp generated by the sending node, and wherein the timestamp corresponds to the identifier of the sending node.

23. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the snooped packet includes a timestamp generated by the receiving node.

24. The medium of claim 20 , wherein determining based on the identifier of the sending node, the identifier of the receiving node, and a record in memory of the wireless device that the wireless device is part of a multi-hop wireless connection including the sending node and the receiving node comprises:

determining that the timestamp is identified in a route table of the wireless device.

25. The medium of claim 20 , wherein snooping, with a wireless device, a packet transmitted from a sending node to a receiving node in a multi-hop wireless connection comprises:

receiving the packet in a promiscuous mode of operation in which substantially all received packets are analyzed regardless of whether the packet is directly addressed to the wireless device.

26. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the wireless device comprises a geolocation sensor, and comprising:

determining to transmit the kill packet based on a location from the geolocation sensor.

27. The medium of claim 20 , wherein determining to transmit the kill packet based on the location from the geolocation sensor comprises:

determining a distance between the location and a location of the receiving node; and

determining to transmit the kill packet based on the difference.

28. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the identifier of the sending node is associated with a geolocation of the sending node obtained from the sending node.

29. The medium of claim 20 , the operations comprising:

after transmitting the kill packet, receiving transmission of packets remaining in a buffer of the receiving node directly from the receiving node;

after receiving the packets in the buffer of the receiving node, receiving packets directly from the sending node.

30. The medium of claim 20 , the operations comprising:

receiving a node-unloaded signal from the receiving node indicating that the receiving node has transmitted the packets in the buffer; and

in response to receiving the node-unloaded signal, removing the receiving node from a description of the multi-hop route in memory of the wireless device.

31. The medium of claim 20 , wherein each node in the multi-hop wireless connection is identified in memory of the wireless device.

32. The medium of claim 20 , the operations comprising:

receiving the kill packet with the receiving node;

transmitting remaining packets stored by the receiving node for the connection from the receiving node to the wireless device;

transmitting a signal from the receiving node indicating that the remaining packets have been transmitted;

transmitting a signal to another node in the multi-hop wireless connection indicating that the receiving node is removed from the connection; and

removing a record of the multi-hop wireless connection from memory of the receiving node.

33. The medium of claim 20 , the operations comprising:

receiving the kill packet with the sending node;

stopping transmission of packets from the sending node to the receiving node; and

transmitting an indication to another node that the receiving node is to be removed from the connection.

34. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the kill packet is propagated in both directions of the multi-hop wireless connection from the receiving node to each node in the connection.

35. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the wireless device shares a power supply with an oil well.

36. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the sending node, the receiving node, or the wireless device is communicatively coupled to well control or monitoring equipment, the method further comprises injecting a fluid into, or extracting a fluid from, a well controlled or monitored by the equipment.

37. The medium of claim 20 , wherein the multi-hop wireless connection is coupled to the Internet, and wherein the snooped packet is transmitted with orthogonal frequency-division multiple access.