Visible Light Communication Cyber Security Vulnerabilities For Indoor And Outdoor Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communication

Light fidelity (Li-Fi), developed from the approach of Visible Light Communication (VLC), is a great replacement or complement to existing radio frequency-based (RF) networks. Li-Fi is expected to be deployed in various environments were, due to Wi-Fi congestion and health limitations, RF should not be used. Moreover, VLC can provide the future fifth generation (5G) wireless technology with higher data rates for device connectivity which will alleviate the traffic demand. 5G is playing a vital role in encouraging the modern applications. In 2023, the deployment of all the cellular networks will reach more than 5 billion users globally. As a result, the security and privacy of 5G wireless networks is an essential problem as those modern applications are in people\u27s life everywhere. VLC security is as one of the core physical-layer security (PLS) solutions for 5G networks. Due to the fact that light does not penetrate through solid objects or walls, VLC naturally has higher security and privacy for indoor wireless networks compared to RF networks. However, the broadcasting nature of VLC caused concerns, e.g., eavesdropping, have created serious attention as it is a crucial step to validate the success of VLC in wild. The aim of this thesis is to properly address the security issues of VLC and further enhance the VLC nature security. We analyzed the secrecy performance of a VLC model by studying the characteristics of the transmitter, receiver and the visible light channel. Moreover, we mitigated the security threats in the VLC model for the legitimate user, by 1) implementing more access points (APs) in a multiuser VLC network that are cooperated, 2) reducing the semi-angle of LED to help improve the directivity and secrecy and, 3) using the protected zone strategy around the AP where eavesdroppers are restricted. According to the model\u27s parameters, the results showed that the secrecy performance in the proposed indoor VLC model and the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) VLC outdoor model using a combination of multiple PLS techniques as beamforming, secure communication zones, and friendly jamming is enhanced. The proposed model security performance was measured with respect to the signal to noise ratio (SNR), received optical power, and bit error rate (BER) Matlab simulation results

Adjacent Channel Interference Aware Joint Scheduling and Power Control for V2V Broadcast Communication

IEEE This paper proposes scheduling and power control schemes to mitigate the impact of both co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent channel interference (ACI) on direct vehicle-to-vehicle broadcast communication. The objective is to maximize the number of vehicles that can communicate with the prescribed requirement on latency and reliability. The joint scheduling and power control problem is formulated as a mixed Boolean linear programming (MBLP) problem. A column generation method is proposed to reduce the computational complexity of the joint problem. From the joint problem, we formulate a scheduling-alone problem (given a power allocation) as a Boolean linear programming (BLP) problem and a power control-alone problem (given a schedule) as an MBLP problem. The scheduling problem is numerically sensitive due to the high dynamic range of channel values and adjacent channel interference ratio (ACIR) values. Therefore, a novel sensitivity reduction technique, which can compute a numerically stable optimal solution at the price of increased computational complexity, is proposed. Numerical results show that ACI, just as CCI, is a serious problem in direct vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication due to near-far situations and hence should not be ignored, and its impact can be reduced by proper scheduling and power control

Controlo de acesso ao meio em comunicações veiculares de tempo-real

Despite several preventive measures, the number of roadway accidents is still very high, being considered even a problem of public health by some entities. This thesis has as global purpose of contributing to the reduction of that number of accidents, and consequent fatalities, by using safety-related applications that use communication among vehicles. In particular, the primary goal is guaranteeing that communication between users in vehicular environments is done with appropriate time bounds to transfer safety-critical information. In detail, it is studied how to manage the scheduling of message’s transmissions (medium access control - MAC), in order to define precisely who will communicate and when is the appropriate instant. The preferable situation where a communication infrastructure is present with full coverage (RSUs) is also studied, from which medium access control is defined precisely, and vehicles (OBUs) become aware of medium utilization. Also, sporadic situations (e.g., absence of RSUs) are studied in which the communication network is “ad hoc” and solely formed by the current vehicles. It is used the recently WAVE / IEEE 802.11p standard, specific for vehicular communications, and it is proposed a TDMA based solution, with appropriate coordination between RSUs in order to effectively disseminate a critical safety event. It is taken into account two different ways of choosing the instant for the initial broadcast, and both cases are compared. In case there is no infrastructure available, methods are derived to minimize communication medium access collisions, and to maximize the available bandwidth. The results reflect the total end-to-end delay, and show that adequate times are attained, and meet with the requisites for the type of applications being considered. Also, enhancements are obtained when using the alternate choice for the initial broadcast instant.Apesar de diversas medidas preventivas, o número de acidentes rodoviários continua a ser muito elevado, sendo mesmo considerado uma questão de saúde pública por algumas entidades. Esta tese tem como objetivo geral contribuir para a redução desse número de acidentes, e consequentes fatalidades, através da utilização de aplicações de segurança que envolvem comunicação entre veículos. Em particular, o objetivo principal é garantir que a comunicação entre utentes, em ambientes veiculares, seja efetuada com limites temporais apropriados à transferência de informações críticas. De forma mais detalhada, é estudada a gestão do escalonamento das transmissões (controlo de acesso ao meio – MAC) que irá definir quem vai comunicar e quando o pode fazer. São estudadas situações (desejadas) onde há uma infra-estrutura de comunicações com cobertura integral (RSUs), a partir da qual se faz a coordenação do acesso ao meio pelos veículos (OBUs), e situações (esporádicas, por ausência de RSU) em que a rede de comunicação é “ad hoc” e apenas constituída pelos veículos presentes. Utiliza-se a recente norma WAVE / IEEE 802.11p, específica para comunicações veiculares, e propõe-se uma solução baseada em TDMA, com coordenação apropriada entre RSUs para disseminação efetiva de um evento crítico de segurança. A escolha do instante para o broadcast inicial do evento de segurança também é tida em conta, e são comparados dois casos distintos. No caso da ausência de infraestrutura, derivam-se métodos para minimizar colisões no acesso ao meio de comunicação, e maximizar a largura de banda disponível. Os resultados refletem o atraso total end-to-end, mostrando tempos apropriados para os requisitos das aplicações em causa, e evidenciando melhorias aquando da escolha alternativa para o instante do broadcast inicial.Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Eletrotécnic

Cellular-V2X Communications for Platooning: Design and Evaluation

Abstract: Platooning is a cooperative driving application where autonomous/semi-autonomous vehicles move on the same lane in a train-like manner, keeping a small constant inter-vehicle distance, in order to reduce fuel consumption and gas emissions and to achieve safe and efficient transport. To this aim, they may exploit multiple on-board sensors (e.g., radars, lidars, positioning systems) and direct vehicle-to-vehicle communications to synchronize their manoeuvres. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the design choices and factors that determine the performance of a platooning application, when exploiting the emerging cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) communication technology and considering the scheduled mode, specified by 3GPP for communications over the sidelink assisted by the eNodeB. Since no resource management algorithm is currently mandated by 3GPP for this new challenging context, we focus on analyzing the feasibility and performance of the dynamic scheduling approach, with platoon members asking for radio resources on a per-packet basis. We consider two ways of implementing dynamic scheduling, currently unspecified by 3GPP: the sequential mode, that is somehow reminiscent of time division multiple access solutions based on IEEE 802.11p – till now the only investigated access technology for platooning – and the simultaneous mode with spatial frequency reuse enabled by the eNodeB. The evaluation conducted through system-level simulations provides helpful insights about the proposed configurations and C-V2X parameter settings that mainly affect the reliability and latency performance of data exchange in platoons, under different load settings. Achieved results show that the proposed simultaneous mode succeeds in reducing the latency in the update cycle in each vehicle’s controller, thus enabling future high-density platooning scenarios

DSRC Versus LTE-V2X: Empirical Performance Analysis of Direct Vehicular Communication Technologies

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication systems have an eminence potential to improve road safety and optimize traffic flow by broadcasting Basic Safety Messages (BSMs). Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) and LTE Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) are two candidate technologies to enable V2V communication. DSRC relies on the IEEE 802.11p standard for its PHY and MAC layer while LTE-V2X is based on 3GPP’s Release 14 and operates in a distributed manner in the absence of cellular infrastructure. There has been considerable debate over the relative advantages and disadvantages of DSRC and LTE-V2X, aiming to answer the fundamental question of which technology is most effective in real-world scenarios for various road safety and traffic efficiency applications. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey of these two technologies (i.e., DSRC and LTE-V2X) and related works. More specifically, we study the PHY and MAC layer of both technologies in the survey study and compare the PHY layer performance using a variety of field tests. First, we provide a summary of each technology and highlight the limitations of each in supporting V2X applications. Then, we examine their performance based on different metrics

On Adjacent Channel Interference-Aware Radio Resource Management for Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication

Safety applications play an essential role in supporting traffic safety and efficiency in next generation vehicular networks. Typical safety applications require vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication with high reliability and low latency. The reliability of a communication link is mainly determined by the received interference, and broadly speaking, there are two types of interferences: co-channel interference (CCI) and adjacent channel interference (ACI). The CCI is cross-talk between transmitters scheduled in the same time-frequency slot, whereas ACI is interference due to leakage of transmit power outside the intended frequency slot. The ACI is typically not a problem in cellular communication since interference is dominated by CCI due to spectrum re-usage. However, ACI is a significant problem in near-far situations, i.e., when the channel gain from the interferer to receiver is high compared to the channel gain from the intended transmitter. The near-far situation is more common in V2V broadcast communication scenario due to high dynamic range of the channel gain and penetration loss by intermediate vehicles. This thesis investigates the impact of ACI on V2V communication and methods to mitigate it by proper radio resource management (RRM), i.e., scheduling and power control.In [Paper A], we first study ACI models for various transmission schemes and its impact on V2V communication. We propose a problem formulation for a) optimal scheduling as a Boolean linear programming (BLP) problem and b) optimal power control as a mixed Boolean linear programming (MBLP) problem. The objective of the problem formulation is to maximize the connectivity among VUEs in the network. Near-optimal schedules and power values are computed by solving first a) and then b) for smaller size instances of the problem. To handle larger-size instances of the problem, heuristic scheduling and power control algorithms with less computational complexity are proposed. We also propose a simple distributed block interleaver scheduler (BIS), which can be used as a baseline method.In [Paper B], we formulate the joint scheduling and power control problem as an MBLP to maximize the connectivity among VUEs. A column generation method is proposed to address the scalability of the network, i.e., to reduce the computational complexity of the joint problem. Moreover, the scheduling problem is observed to be numerically sensitive due to the high dynamic range of channel values and adjacent channel interference ratio (ACIR) values. Therefore, a novel method is proposed to reduce the sensitivity and compute a numerically stable optimal solution at the price of increased computational complexity.In [Paper C], we extend the RRM problem formulation to include various objectives, such as maximizing connectivity/throughput and minimizing age of information (AoI). In order to account for the fairness, we also formulate the problem to improve the worst-case throughput, connectivity, and AoI of a link in the network. All the problems are formulated as MBLP problems. In order to support a large V2V network, a clustering algorithm is proposed whose computational complexity scale well with the network size. Moreover, a multihop distributed scheduling scheme is proposed to handle zero channel state information (CSI) case

Investigation of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication for Autonomous Control of Connected Vehicles

Autonomous Driving Vehicles (ADVs) has received considerable attention in recent years by academia and industry, bringing about a paradigm shift in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), where vehicles operate in close proximity through wireless communication. It is envisioned as a promising technology for realising efficient and intelligent transportation systems, with potential applications for civilian and military purposes. Vehicular network management for ADVs is challenging as it demands mobility, location awareness, high reliability, and low latency data traffic. This research aims to develop and implement vehicular communication in conjunction with a driving algorithm for ADVs feedback control system with a specific focus on the safe displacement of vehicle platoon while sensing the surrounding environment, such as detecting road signs and communicate with other road users such as pedestrian, motorbikes, non-motorised vehicles and infrastructure. However, in order to do so, one must investigate crucial aspects related to the available technology, such as driving behaviour, low latency communication requirement, communication standards, and the reliability of such a mechanism to decrease the number of traffic accidents and casualties significantly. To understand the behaviour of wireless communication compared to the theoretical data rates, throughput, and roaming behaviour in a congested indoor line-of-sight heterogeneous environment, we first carried out an experimental study for IEEE 802.11a, 802.11n and 802.11ac standards in a 5 GHz frequency spectrum. We validated the results with an analytical path loss model as it is essential to understand how the client device roams or decides to roam from one Access Point to another and vice-versa. We observed seamless roaming between the tested protocols irrespective of their operational environment (indoor or outdoor); their throughput efficiency and data rate were also improved by 8-12% when configured with Short Guard Interval (SGI) of 400ns compared to the theoretical specification of the tested protocols. Moreover, we also investigated the Software-Defined Networking (SDN) for vehicular communication and compared it with the traditional network, which is generally incorporated vertically where control and data planes are bundled collectively. The SDN helped gain more flexibility to support multiple core networks for vehicular communication and tackle the potential challenges of network scalability for vehicular applications raised by the ADVs. In particular, we demonstrate that the SDN improves throughput efficiency by 4% compared to the traditional network while ensuring efficient bandwidth and resource management. Finally, we proposed a novel data-driven coordination model which incorporates Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication and Intelligent Driver Model (IDM), together called V2X Enabled Intelligent Driver Model (VX-IDM). Our model incorporates a Car-Following Model (CFM), i.e., IDM, to model a vehicle platoon in an urban and highway traffic scenario while ensuring the vehicle platoon's safety with the integration of IEEE 802.11p Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication scheme. The model integrates the 802.11p V2I communication channel with the IDM in MATLAB using ODE‐45 and utilises the 802.11p simulation toolbox for configuring vehicular channels. To demonstrate model functionality in urban and highway traffic environments, we developed six case studies. We also addressed the heterogeneity issue of wireless networks to improve the overall network reliability and efficiency by estimating the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) parameters for the platoon vehicle's displacement and location on the road from Road-Side-Units (RSUs). The simulation results showed that inter-vehicle spacing could be steadily maintained at a minimum safe value at all the time. Moreover, the model has a fault-tolerant mechanism that works even when communication with infrastructure is interrupted or unavailable, making the VX-IDM model collision-free