We present our contribution in projects related to ad-hoc networking using different routing protocols and hardware platforms, showing our results and new solutions regarding topology control and routing protocols. We mainly focus on our work in the GUARDIANS EU-project, where as a main disaster scenario a large industrial warehouse on fire is assumed. The paper presents the simulation results for the routing protocols ACR, DSR and EDSR, as well as the implementation of down-scaled demos for supporting the autonomous team of robots as well as the human squad team with robust communication coverage. Various hardware platforms were used in the demos for distance measurement, based on laser range finder and radio communication with time of flight analysis.