A Survey of Broadcast Protocols for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

Abstract

Vehicular ad-hoc networks have become the most popular application to enhance traffic safety. The traffic safety by disseminating safety messages is considered as one of the most important applications of vehicular ad-hoc networks. Broadcasting is considered as the most suitable communication mechanism to disseminate the safety message in vehicular ad-hoc networks. When an accident happens on a road, the safety message should be broadcasted to all vehicles in the area exposed to potential hazard. Broadcasting is the process in which a source vehicle sends a message to all other vehicles in vehicular ad-hoc networks. The safety message can help human drivers to enable smooth and safe driving by providing the drivers in various risk traffic environments. This paper describes a survey on broadcasting protocols for vehicular ad-hoc networks, and discusses briefly discuss applications of vehicular ad-hoc networks. Classification and comparison of broadcasting protocols are also described from their pros and cons. From the classification and comparison, this survey makes it possible to provide a variety of considerations that are required for designing a new broadcasting protocol in vehicular ad-hoc networks.