Positioning Accuracy Improvement via Distributed Location Estimate in Cooperative Vehicular Networks

The development of cooperative vehicle safety (CVS) applications, such as collision warnings, turning assistants, and speed advisories, etc., has received great attention in the past few years. Accurate vehicular localization is essential to enable these applications. In this study, motivated by the proliferation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, and the increasing sophistication of wireless communication technologies in vehicular networks, we propose a distributed location estimate algorithm to improve the positioning accuracy via cooperative inter-vehicle distance measurement. In particular, we compute the inter-vehicle distance based on raw GPS pseudorange measurements, instead of depending on traditional radio-based ranging techniques, which usually either suffer from high hardware cost or have inadequate positioning accuracy. In addition, we improve the estimation of the vehicles' locations only based on the inaccurate GPS fixes, without using any anchors with known exact locations. The algorithm is decentralized, which enhances its practicability in highly dynamic vehicular networks. We have developed a simulation model to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm, and the results demonstrate that the algorithm can significantly improve the positioning accuracy.Comment: To appear in Proc. of the 15th International IEEE Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems (IEEE ITSC'12

Beaconing Approaches in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks: A Survey

A Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET) is a type of wireless ad hoc network that facilitates ubiquitous connectivity between vehicles in the absence of fixed infrastructure. Beaconing approaches is an important research challenge in high mobility vehicular networks with enabling safety applications. In this article, we perform a survey and a comparative study of state-of-the-art adaptive beaconing approaches in VANET, that explores the main advantages and drawbacks behind their design. The survey part of the paper presents a review of existing adaptive beaconing approaches such as adaptive beacon transmission power, beacon rate adaptation, contention window size adjustment and Hybrid adaptation beaconing techniques. The comparative study of the paper compares the representatives of adaptive beaconing approaches in terms of their objective of study, summary of their study, the utilized simulator and the type of vehicular scenario. Finally, we discussed the open issues and research directions related to VANET adaptive beaconing approaches.Ghafoor, KZ.; Lloret, J.; Abu Bakar, K.; Sadiq, AS.; Ben Mussa, SA. (2013). Beaconing Approaches in Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks: A Survey. Wireless Personal Communications. 73(3):885-912. doi:10.1007/s11277-013-1222-9S885912733ITS-Standards (1996) Intelligent transportation systems, U.S. Department of Transportation, http://www.standards.its.dot.gov/about.aspCheng, L., Henty, B., Stancil, D., Bai, F., & Mudalige, P. (2005). Mobile vehicle-to-vehicle narrow-band channel measurement and characterization of the 5.9 Ghz dedicated short range communication (DSRC) frequency band. IEEE Transactions on Selected Areas in Communications, 25(8), 1501–1516.van Eenennaam, E., Wolterink, K., Karagiannis, G., & Heijenk, G. (2009). Exploring the solution space of beaconing in vanets. In Proceedings of the 2009 IEEE international vehicular networking conference, Tokyo (pp. 1–8).Torrent-Moreno, M. 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Communication technologies to design vehicle-to-vehicle and vehile-to-infrastructures applications

Intelligent Transport Systems use communication technologies to offer real-time traffic information services to road users and government managers. Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks is an important component of ITS where vehicles communicate with other vehicles and road-side infrastructures, analyze and process received information, and make decisions according to that. However, features like high vehicle speeds, constant mobility, varying topology, traffic density, etc. induce challenges that make conventional wireless technologies unsuitable for vehicular networks. This paper focuses on the process of designing efficient vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to road-side infrastructure applications.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A New Vehicle Localization Scheme Based on Combined Optical Camera Communication and Photogrammetry

The demand for autonomous vehicles is increasing gradually owing to their enormous potential benefits. However, several challenges, such as vehicle localization, are involved in the development of autonomous vehicles. A simple and secure algorithm for vehicle positioning is proposed herein without massively modifying the existing transportation infrastructure. For vehicle localization, vehicles on the road are classified into two categories: host vehicles (HVs) are the ones used to estimate other vehicles' positions and forwarding vehicles (FVs) are the ones that move in front of the HVs. The FV transmits modulated data from the tail (or back) light, and the camera of the HV receives that signal using optical camera communication (OCC). In addition, the streetlight (SL) data are considered to ensure the position accuracy of the HV. Determining the HV position minimizes the relative position variation between the HV and FV. Using photogrammetry, the distance between FV or SL and the camera of the HV is calculated by measuring the occupied image area on the image sensor. Comparing the change in distance between HV and SLs with the change in distance between HV and FV, the positions of FVs are determined. The performance of the proposed technique is analyzed, and the results indicate a significant improvement in performance. The experimental distance measurement validated the feasibility of the proposed scheme

Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks - OMCO NET

The mini conference “Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks” focuses on advanced methods for search and optimisation applied to wireless communication networks. It is sponsored by Research & Enterprise Fund Southampton Solent University. The conference strives to widen knowledge on advanced search methods capable of optimisation of wireless communications networks. The aim is to provide a forum for exchange of recent knowledge, new ideas and trends in this progressive and challenging area. The conference will popularise new successful approaches on resolving hard tasks such as minimisation of transmit power, cooperative and optimal routing

The Impact of Driver Reaction in Cooperative Vehicle Safety Systems

Cooperative Vehicular Safety (CVS) has recently been widely studied in the field of automated vehicular systems. CVS systems help decrease the rates of accidents. However, implementing and testing CVS applications in real world is very costly and risky. Hence, most of the related research studies on CVS applications have relied mainly on simulations. In simulated CVS systems, it is important to consider all critical aspects of used models, and how these models affect one another. The movement model is a key component in the simulation study of CVS systems, which controls the mobility of vehicles (nodes) and responses to the continually changing acquiredinformation. However, existing mobility models are not created to take action(s) in response to hazardous situations (identified by situational awareness component). Integrating the reaction(s) to a hazardous alert is a missing element in current CVS system simulations. Hence to rectify this deficiency, this work is to incorporate a Driver’s Reaction Model (DReaM) that react and respond to hazard alerts, and studies the effect of main components of CVS system including the added model. We examined a simulation modeling framework that describes cooperative vehicle safety system as one unified model. The studied framework is powered by cooperation and communication between vehicles. Investigated elements are communication model, movement model, warning generation, and driver response to warning indicating an emergency of near to crash situation