Integrated wireless access and networking to support floating car data collection in vehicular networks

Collecting data from a large number of agents scattered over a region of interest is becoming an increasingly appealing paradigm to feed big data archives that lay the ground for a vast array of applications. Vehicular Floating Car Data (FCD) collection, a major representative of this paradigm, is a key enabler for a wide range of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) services and applications aiming at enhancing safety, efficiency and sustainability. Obtaining real time, high spacial and temporal resolution vehicular FCD information is becoming a reality thanks to the variety of communication platforms that are being deployed. Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) and Long Term Evolution (LTE) are the most prominent communication technologies able to support periodic and persistent FCD collection. DSRC technology was mainly proposed for safety applications and is specifically tailored for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). The first parts of this work are dedicated to assessing the suitability of DSRC to support FCD collection in real urban scenarios. We first study the basic communication paradigm that takes place in VANETs to populate vehicles’ local data bases with FCD information, named beaconing, and the trade-off between the beaconing frequency and the congestion induced in the wireless shared channel used to exchange these beacons. The primary metric to measure the information freshness inside every vehicle’s local data base is the Age-of-Information (AoI). We define an analytical model to evaluate the AoI of a VANET, given the connectivity graph of the vehicles, and validate the model by comparing it with realistic simulations of an urban area. Then, we propose an integrated DSRC-based protocol that disseminates queries and collects FCD messages from vehicles roaming in a quite large city area efficiently and timely by using a single network structure, i.e., a multi-hop backbone network made up of only vehicle nodes. The proposed solution is distributed and adaptive to different traffic conditions, i.e., to different levels of vehicular traffic density. One of the main protocol advantages is that for the dissemination of queries it exploits an existing standardized data dissemination algorithm, namely the GeoNetworking Contention-Based Forwarding (CBF). The proposed protocol is evaluated with reference to a real urban environment. The main parameters are dimensioned and an insight into the protocol operation is given. One of the main outcomes of this part of the thesis is the confirmation of the fact that DSRC is suitable to support not only safety applications, but also periodic FCD collection. The main issue with DSRC is the low penetration rate. LTE on the other hand is pervasive and has been identified as a good candidate technology for non-safety applications. However, a high number of vehicles intermittently reporting their information via LTE can introduce a very high load on the LTE access network. The second part of this work addresses the design and performance evaluation of heterogeneous LTE-DSRC networking solutions to yield significant offloading of LTE – here, DSRC technology can support local data aggregation. We propose distributed clustering algorithms that use both LTE and DSRC networks in the cluster head selection process. We target robustness, optimizing the amount of data and the value of the collection period, keeping in mind the goals of autonomous node operation and minimal coordination effort. Our results clearly indicate that it is crucial to consider parameters drawn from both networking platforms for selecting the right forwarders. We demonstrate that our solutions are able to significantly reduce the LTE channel utilization with respect to other state-of-the-art approaches. The impact of the proposed protocols on the DSRC channels’ load is evaluated and proved to be quite small, so that it does not interfere with other VANET-specific messages

INTELLIGENTE TRANSPORT SYSTEMEN ITS EN VERKEERSVEILIGHEID

This report discusses Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). This generic term is used for a broad range of information-, control- and electronic technology that can be integrated in the road infrastructure and the vehicles themselves, saving lives, time and money bymonitoring and managing traffic flows, reducing conges-tion, avoiding accidents, etc. Because this report was written in the scope of the Policy Research Centre Mobility & Public Works, track Traffic Safety, it focuses on ITS systems from the traffic safety point of view. Within the whole range of ITS systems, two categories can be distinguished: autonomous and cooperative systems. Autonomous systems are all forms of ITS which operate by itself, and do not depend on the cooperation with other vehicles or supporting infrastructure. Example applications are blind spot detection using radar, electronic stability control, dynamic traffic management using variable road signs, emergency call, etc. Cooperative systems are ITS systems based on communication and cooperation, both between vehicles as between vehicles and infrastructure. Example applications are alerting vehicles approaching a traffic jam, exchanging data regarding hazardous road conditions, extended electronic brake light, etc. In some cases, autonomous systems can evolve to autonomous cooperative systems. ISA (Intelligent Speed Adaptation) is an example of this: the dynamic aspect as well as communication with infrastructure (eg Traffic lights, Variable Message Sign (VMS)...) can provide additional road safety. This is the clear link between the two parts of this report. The many ITS applications are an indicator of the high expectations from the government, the academic world and the industry regarding the possibilities made possible by both categories of ITS systems. Therefore, the comprehensive discussion of both of them is the core of this report. The first part of the report covering the autonomous systems treats two aspects: 1. Overview of European projects related to mobility and in particular to road safety 2. Overview for guidelines for the evaluation of ITS projects. Out of the wide range of diverse (autonomous) ITS applications a selection is made; this selection is focused on E Safety Forum and PreVENT. Especially the PreVent research project is interesting because ITS-applications have led to a number of concrete demonstration vehicles that showed - in protected and unprotected surroundings- that these ITS-applications are already technically useful or could be developed into useful products. The component “guidelines for the evaluation of ITS projects” outlines that the government has to have specific evaluation tools if the government has the ambition of using ITS-applications for road safety. Two projects -guidelines for the evaluation of ITS projects- are examined; a third evaluation method is only mentioned because this description shows that a specific targeting of the government can be desirable : 1. TRACE describes the guidelines for the evaluation of ITS projects which are useful for the evaluation of specific ITS-applications. 2. FITS contains Finnish guidelines for the evaluation of ITS project; FIS is an adaptation of methods used for evaluation of transport projects. 3. The third evaluation method for the evaluation of ITS projects is developed in an ongoing European research project, eImpact. eImpact is important because, a specific consultation of stake holders shows that the social importance of some techniques is underestimated. These preliminary results show that an appropriate guiding role for the government could be important. In the second part of this document the cooperative systems are discussed in depth. These systems enable a large number of applications with an important social relevance, both on the level of the environment, mobility and traffic safety. Cooperative systems make it possible to warn drivers in time to avoid collisions (e.g. when approaching the tail of a traffic jam, or when a ghost driver is detected). Hazardous road conditions can be automatically communicated to other drivers (e.g. after the detection of black ice or an oil trail by the ESP). Navigation systems can receive detailed real-time up-dates about the current traffic situation and can take this into account when calculating their routes. When a traffic distortion occurs, traffic centers can immediately take action and can actively influence the way that the traffic will be diverted. Drivers can be notified well in advance about approaching emergency vehicles, and can be directed to yield way in a uniform manner. This is just a small selection from the large number of applications that are made possible because of cooperative ITS systems, but it is very obvious that these systems can make a significant positive contribution to traffic safety. In literature it is estimated that the decrease of accidents with injuries of fatalities will be between 20% and 50% . It is not suprising that ITS systems receive a lot of attention for the moment. On an international level, a number of standards are being established regarding this topic. The International Telecommunications Uniont (ITU), Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Association of Radio Industries and Business (ARIB) and European committee for standardization (CEN) are currently defining standards that describe different aspects of ITS systems. One of the names that is mostly mentioned in literature is the ISO TC204/WG16 Communications Architecture for Land Mobile environment (CALM) standard. It describes a framework that enables transparent (both for the application and the user) continuous communication through different communication media. Besides the innumerable standardization activities, there is a great number of active research projects. On European level, the most important are the i2010 Intelligent Car Initiative, the eSafety Forum, and the COMeSafety, the CVIS, the SAFESPOT, the COOPERS and the SEVECOM project. The i2010 Intelligent Car Initiative is an European initiative with the goal to halve the number of traffic casualties by 2010. The eSafety Forum is an initiative of the European Commission, industry and other stakeholders and targets the acceleration of development and deployment of safety-related ITS systems. The COMeSafety project supports the eSafety Forum on the field of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. In the CVIS project, attention is given to both technical and non-technical issues, with the main goal to develop the first free and open reference implementation of the CALM architecture. The SAFEST project investigates which data is important for safety applications, and with which algorithmsthis data can be extracted from vehicles and infrastructure. The COOPERS project mainly targets communication between vehicles and dedicated roadside infrastructure. Finally, the SEVECOM project researches security and privacy issues. Besides the European projects, research is also conducted in the United States of America (CICAS and VII projects) and in Japan (AHSRA, VICS, Smartway, internetITS). Besides standardization bodies and governmental organizations, also the industry has a considerable interest in ITS systems. In the scope of their ITS activities, a number of companies are united in national and international organizations. On an international level, the best known names are the Car 2 Car Communication Consortium, and Ertico. The C2C CC unites the large European car manufacturers, and focuses on the development of an open standard for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications based on the already well established IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard. Ertico is an European multi-sector, public/private partnership with the intended purpose of the development and introduction of ITS systems. On a national level, FlandersDrive and The Telematics Cluster / ITS Belgium are the best known organizations. Despite the worldwide activities regarding (cooperative) ITS systems, there still is no consensus about the wireless technology to be used in such systems. This can be put down to the fact that a large number of suitable technologies exist or are under development. Each technology has its specific advantages and disadvantages, but no single technology is the ideal solution for every ITS application. However, the different candidates can be classified in three distinct categories. The first group contains solutions for Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC), such as the WAVE technology. The second group is made up of several cellular communication networks providing coverage over wide areas. Examples are GPRS (data communication using the GSM network), UMTS (faster then GPRS), WiMAX (even faster then UMTS) and MBWA (similar to WiMAX). The third group consists of digital data broadcast technologies such as RDS (via the current FM radio transmissions, slow), DAB and DMB (via current digital radio transmissions, quicker) and DVB-H (via future digital television transmissions for mobiledevices, quickest). The previous makes it clear that ITS systems are a hot topic right now, and they receive a lot of attention from the academic world, the standardization bodies and the industry. Therefore, it seems like that it is just a matter of time before ITS systems will find their way into the daily live. Due to the large number of suitable technologies for the implementation of cooperative ITS systems, it is very hard to define which role the government has to play in these developments, and which are the next steps to take. These issues were addressed in reports produced by the i2010 Intelligent Car Initiative and the CVIS project. Their state of the art overview revealed that until now, no country has successfully deployed a fully operational ITS system yet. Seven EU countries are the furthest and are already in the deployment phase: Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain and France. These countries are trailed by eight countries which are in the promotion phase: Denmark, Greece, Italy, Austria, Belgium,Norway, the Czech Republic and Poland. Finally, the last ten countries find themselves in the start-up phase: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Portugal, Switzerland, Ireland and Luxembourg. These European reports produced by the i2010 Intelligent Car Initiative and the CVIS project have defined a few policy recommendations which are very relevant for the Belgian and Flemish government. The most important recommendations for the Flemish government are: • Support awareness: research revealed that civilians consider ITS applications useful, but they are not really willing to pay for this technology. Therefore, it is important to convince the general public of the usefulness and the importance of ITS systems. • Fill the gaps: Belgium is situated in the promotion phase. This means that it should focus at identifying the missing stakeholders, and coordinating national and regional ITS activities. Here it is important that the research activities are coordinated in a national and international context to allow transfer of knowledge from one study to the next, as well as the results to be comparable. • Develop a vision: in the scope of ITS systems policies have to be defined regarding a large number of issues. For instance there is the question if ITS users should be educated, meaning that the use of ITS systems should be the subject of the drivers license exam. How will the regulations be for the technical inspection of vehicles equipped with ITS technology? Will ITS systems be deployed on a voluntary base, or will they e.g. be obliged in every new car? Will the services be offered by private companies, by the public authorities, or by a combination of them? Which technology will be used to implement ITS systems? These are just a few of the many questions where the government will have to develop a point of view for. • Policy coordination: ITS systems are a policy subject on an international, national and regional level. It is very important that these policy organizations can collaborate in a coordinated manner. • Iterative approach to policy development: developing policies for this complex matter is not a simple task. This asks for an iterative approach, where policy decisions are continuously refined and adjusted

Dense Moving Fog for Intelligent IoT: Key Challenges and Opportunities

As the ratification of 5G New Radio technology is being completed, enabling network architectures are expected to undertake a matching effort. Conventional cloud and edge computing paradigms may thus become insufficient in supporting the increasingly stringent operating requirements of \emph{intelligent~Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices} that can move unpredictably and at high speeds. Complementing these, the concept of fog emerges to deploy cooperative cloud-like functions in the immediate vicinity of various moving devices, such as connected and autonomous vehicles, on the road and in the air. Envisioning gradual evolution of these infrastructures toward the increasingly denser geographical distribution of fog functionality, we in this work put forward the vision of dense moving fog for intelligent IoT applications. To this aim, we review the recent powerful enablers, outline the main challenges and opportunities, and corroborate the performance benefits of collaborative dense fog operation in a characteristic use case featuring a connected fleet of autonomous vehicles.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. The work has been accepted for publication in IEEE Communications Magazine, 2019. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Real time collision warning system in the context of vehicle-to-vehicle data exchange based on drivings behaviours analysis

Worldwide injuries in vehicle accidents have been on the rise in recent years, mainly due to driver error regardless of technological innovations and advancements for vehicle safety. Consequently, there is a need for a reliable-real time warning system that can alert drivers of a potential collision. Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) is an extensive area of ongoing research and development which has started to revolutionize the driving experience. Driving behaviour is a subject of extensive research which gains special attention due to the relationship between speeding behaviour and crashes as drivers who engage in frequent and extreme speeding behaviour are overinvolved in crashes. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set guidelines on how different vehicle automation levels may reduce vehicle crashes and how the use of on-board short-range sensors coupled with V2V technologies can help facilitate communication among vehicles. Based on the previous works, it can be seen that the assessment of drivers’ behaviours using their trajectory data is a fresh and open research field. Most studies related to driving behaviours in terms of acceleration�deceleration are evaluated at the laboratory scale using experimental results from actual vehicles. Towards this end, a five-stage methodology for a new collision warning system in the context of V2V based on driving behaviours has been designed. Real-time V2V hardware for data collection purposes was developed. Driving behaviour was analyzed in different timeframes prior obtained from actual driving behaviour in an urban environment collected from OBD-II adapter and GPS data logger of an instrumented vehicle. By measuring the in-vehicle accelerations, it is possible to categorize the driving behaviour into four main classes based on real-time experiments: safe drivers, normal, aggressive, and dangerous drivers. When the vehicle is in a risk situation, the system based on NRF24L01+PA/LNA, GPS, and OBD-II will pass a signal to the driver using a dedicated LCD and LED light signal. The driver can instantly decide to make the vehicle in a safe mood, effectively avoid the happening of vehicle accidents. The proposed solution provides two main functions: (1) the detection of the dangerous vehicles involved in the road, and (2) the display of a message informing the driver if it is safe or unsafe to pass. System performance was evaluated to ensure that it achieved the primary objective of improving road safety in the extreme behaviour of the driver in question either the safest (or the least aggressive) and the most unsafe (or the most aggressive). The proposed methodology has retained some advantages for other literature studies because of the simultaneous use of speed, acceleration, and vehicle location. The V2V based on driving behaviour experiments shows the effectiveness of the selected approach predicts behaviour with an accuracy of over 87% in sixty-four real-time scenarios presented its capability to detect behaviour and provide a warning to nearby drivers. The system failed detection only in few times when the receiving vehicle missed data due to high speed during the test as well as the distances between the moving vehicles, the data was not received correctly since the power transmitted, the frequency range of the signals, the antenna relative positions, and the number of in-range vehicles are of interest for the V2V test scenarios. The latter result supports the conclusion that warnings that efficiently and quickly transmit their information may be better when driver are under stress or time pressure