Cloud-Assisted Safety Message Dissemination in VANET-Cellular Heterogeneous Wireless Network

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), efficient message dissemination is critical to road safety and traffic efficiency. Since many VANET-based schemes suffer from high transmission delay and data redundancy, the integrated VANET–cellular heterogeneous network has been proposed recently and attracted significant attention. However, most existing studies focus on selecting suitable gateways to deliver safety message from the source vehicle to a remote server, whereas rapid safety message dissemination from the remote server to a targeted area has not been well studied. In this paper, we propose a framework for rapid message dissemination that combines the advantages of diverse communication and cloud computing technologies. Specifically, we propose a novel Cloud-assisted Message Downlink dissemination Scheme (CMDS), with which the safety messages in the cloud server are first delivered to the suitable mobile gateways on relevant roads with the help of cloud computing (where gateways are buses with both cellular and VANET interfaces), and then being disseminated among neighboring vehicles via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. To evaluate the proposed scheme, we mathematically analyze its performance and conduct extensive simulation experiments. Numerical results confirm the efficiency of CMDS in various urban scenarios

Cloud-Assisted Safety Message Dissemination in VANET-Cellular Heterogeneous Wireless Network

Abstract-In vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs), efficient message dissemination is critical to road safety and traffic efficiency. Since many VANET-based schemes suffer from high transmission delay and data redundancy, integrated VANETcellular heterogeneous network has been proposed recently and attracted significant attention. However, most existing studies focus on selecting suitable gateways to deliver safety message from the source vehicle to a remote server, while rapid safety message dissemination from the remote server to a targeted area has not been well studied. In this paper, we propose a framework for rapid message dissemination that combines the advantages of diverse communication and cloud computing technologies

Reinforcement Learning based Gateway Selection in VANETs

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), providing the Internet has become an urgent necessity, where mobile gateways are used to ensure network connection to all customer vehicles in the network. However, the highly dynamic topology and bandwidth limitations of the network represent a significant issue in the gateway selection process. Two objectives are defined to overcome these challenges. The first objective aims to maximize the number of vehicles connected to the Internet by finding a suitable gateway for them depending on the connection lifetime. The second objective seeks to minimize the number of connected vehicles to the same gateway to overcome the limitation of gateways\u27 bandwidth and distribute the load in the network. For this purpose, A gateway discovery system assisted by the vehicular cloud is implemented to find a fair trade-off between the two conflicting objectives. Proximal Policy Optimization, a well-known reinforcement learning strategy, is used to define and train the agent. The trained agent was evaluated and compared with other multi-objective optimization methods under different conditions. The obtained results show that the proposed algorithm has better performance in terms of the number of connected vehicles, load distribution over the mobile gateways, link connectivity duration, and execution time

A Framework Based on Distributed Ledger Technologies for Data Management and Services in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Data are becoming the cornerstone of many businesses and entire systems infrastructure. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) are no different. The ability of intelligent vehicles and devices to acquire and share environmental measurements in the form of data is leading to the creation of smart services for the benefit of individuals. In this paper, we present a system architecture to promote the development of ITS using distributed ledgers and related technologies. Thanks to these, it becomes possible to create, store and share data generated by users through the sensors on their devices or vehicles, while on the move. We propose an architecture based on Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) to offer features such as immutability, traceability and verifiability of data. IOTA, a promising DLT for IoT, is used together with Decentralized File Storages (DFSes) to store and certify data (and their related metadata) coming from vehicles or by the users' devices themselves (smartphones). Ethereum is then exploited as the smart contract platform that coordinates the data sharing through access control mechanisms. Privacy guarantees are provided by the usage of distributed key management systems and Zero Knowledge Proof. We provide experimental results of a testbed based on real traces, in order to understand if DLT and DFS technologies are ready to support complex services, such as those that pertain to ITS. Results clearly show that, while the viability of the proposal cannot be rejected, further work is needed on the responsiveness of DLT infrastructures

A Comprehensive Survey on Moving Networks

The unprecedented increase in the demand for mobile data, fuelled by new emerging applications such as HD video streaming and heightened online activities has caused massive strain on the existing cellular networks. As a solution, the 5G technology has been introduced to improve network performance through various innovative features such as mmWave spectrum and HetNets. In essence, HetNets include several small cells underlaid within macro-cell to serve densely populated regions. Recently, a mobile layer of HetNet has been under consideration by the researchers and is often referred to as moving networks. Moving networks comprise of mobile cells that are primarily introduced to improve QoS for commuting users inside public transport because the QoS is deteriorated due to vehicular penetration losses. Furthermore, the users inside fast moving public transport also exert excessive load on the core network due to large group handovers. To this end, mobile cells will play a crucial role in reducing overall handover count and will help in alleviating these problems by decoupling in-vehicle users from the core network. To date, remarkable research results have been achieved by the research community in addressing challenges linked to moving networks. However, to the best of our knowledge, a discussion on moving networks in a holistic way is missing in the current literature. To fill the gap, in this paper, we comprehensively survey moving networks. We cover the technological aspects and their applications in the futuristic applications. We also discuss the use-cases and value additions that moving networks may bring to future cellular architecture and identify the challenges associated with them. Based on the identified challenges we discuss the future research directions.Comment: This survey has been submitted to IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorial