Precise positioning systems for Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANET) is a very promising research venue that can offers many useful and critical applications including the safety applications. Most of these applications require that each vehicle knows precisely its current position in real time. GPS is the most common positioning technique for VANET. However, it is not accurate. Moreover, the GPS signals cannot be received in the tunnels, undergrounds, or near tall buildings. Thus, no positioning service can be obtained in these locations. Even if the Deferential GPS (DGPS) can provide high accuracy, but still no GPS converge in these locations. In this paper, we provide positioning techniques for VANET that can provide accurate positioning service in the areas where GPS signals are hindered by the obstacles. Experimental results show significant improvement in the accuracy. This allows when combined with DGPS the continuity of a precise positioning service that can be used by most of the VANET applications.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, International Journal of Wireless & Mobile Networks (IJWMN) Vol. 4, No. 2, April 201

Intelligent Traffic Management System Based on the Internet of Vehicles (IoV)

The present era is marked by rapid improvement and advances in technology. One of the most essential areas that demand improvement is the traffic signal, as it constitutes the core of the traffic system. This demand becomes stringent with the development of Smart Cities. Unfortunately, road traffic is currently controlled by very old traffic signals (tri-color signals) regardless of the relentless effort devoted to developing and improving the traffic flow. These traditional traffic signals have many problems including inefficient time management in road intersections; they are not immune to some environmental conditions, like rain; and they have no means of giving priority to emergency vehicles. New technologies like Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANET) and Internet of Vehicles (IoV) enable vehicles to communicate with those nearby and with a dedicated infrastructure wirelessly. In this paper, we propose a new traffic management system based on the existing VANET and IoV that is suitable for future traffic systems and Smart Cities. In this paper, we present the architecture of our proposed Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) and Smart Traffic Signal (STS) controller. We present local traffic management of an intersection based on the demands of future Smart Cities for fairness, reducing commute time, providing reasonable traffic flow, reducing traffic congestion, and giving priority to emergency vehicles. Simulation results showed that the proposed system outperforms the traditional management system and could be a candidate for the traffic management system in future Smart Cities. Our proposed adaptive algorithm not only significantly reduces the average waiting time (delay) but also increases the number of serviced vehicles. Besides, we present the implemented hardware prototype for STS

Safe Driving Distance and Speed for Collision Avoidance in Connected Vehicles

Vehicle tailgating or simply tailgating is a hazardous driving habit. Tailgating occurs when a vehicle moves very close behind another one while not leaving adequate separation distance in case the vehicle in front stops unexpectedly; this separation distance is technically called “Assured Clear Distance Ahead” (ACDA) or Safe Driving Distance. Advancements in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) have made it of tremendous significance to have an intelligent approach for connected vehicles to avoid tailgating; this paper proposes a new Internet of Vehicles (IoV) based technique that enables connected vehicles to determine ACDA or Safe Driving Distance and Safe Driving Speed to avoid a forward collision. The technique assumes two cases: In the first case, the vehicle has Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) system, while in the second case, the vehicle has no AEB. Safe Driving Distance and Safe Driving Speed are calculated under several variables. Experimental results show that Safe Driving Distance and Safe Driving Speed depend on several parameters such as weight of the vehicle, tires status, length of the vehicle, speed of the vehicle, type of road (snowy asphalt, wet asphalt, or dry asphalt or icy road) and the weather condition (clear or foggy). The study found that the technique is effective in calculating Safe Driving Distance, thereby resulting in forward collision avoidance by connected vehicles and maximizing road utilization by dynamically enforcing the minimum required safe separating gap as a function of the current values of the affecting parameters, including the speed of the surrounding vehicles, the road condition, and the weather condition