On the Potential of Generic Modeling for VANET Data Aggregation Protocols

In-network data aggregation is a promising communication mechanism to reduce bandwidth requirements of applications in vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs). Many aggregation schemes have been proposed, often with varying features. Most aggregation schemes are tailored to specific application scenarios and for specific aggregation operations. Comparative evaluation of different aggregation schemes is therefore difficult. An application centric view of aggregation does also not tap into the potential of cross application aggregation. Generic modeling may help to unlock this potential. We outline a generic modeling approach to enable improved comparability of aggregation schemes and facilitate joint optimization for different applications of aggregation schemes for VANETs. This work outlines the requirements and general concept of a generic modeling approach and identifies open challenges

Privacy Implications of In-Network Aggregation Mechanisms for VANETs

Research on vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) is active and ongoing. Proposed applications range from safety applications, and traffic efficiency applications to entertainment applications. Common to many applications is the need to disseminate possibly privacy-sensitive information, such as location and speed information, over larger distances. In-network aggregation is a promising technology that can help to make such privacy-sensitive information only available in the direct vicinity of vehicles instead of communicating it over larger areas. Further away, only aggregated information that is not privacy-relevant anymore will be known. At the same time, aggregation mechanisms help to cope with the limited available wireless bandwidth. However, the exact privacy properties of aggregation mechanisms have still not been thoroughly researched. In this paper, we propose a metric to measure privacy enhancements provided by in-network aggregation and use it to compare existing schemes

Secure Data Aggregation in Vehicular-Adhoc Networks: A Survey

AbstractVehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are an upcoming technology that is gaining momentum in recent years. That may be the reason that the network attracts more and more attention from both industry and academia. Due to the limited bandwidth of wireless communication medium, scalability is a major problem. Data aggregation is a solution to this. The goal of data aggregation is to combine the messages and disseminate this in larger region. While doing aggregation integrity of the information can not be easily verified and attacks may be possible. Hence aggregation must be secure. Although there are several surveys covering VANETs, they do not concentrate on security issues specifically on data aggregation. In this paper, we discuss and analyse various data aggregation techniques and their solutions