An Incentive Scheme for VANETs based on Traffic Event Validation using Blockchain

Abstract

A large amount of data is involved in an effective and timely exchange of traffic information between vehicles in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs), which ensures efficiency and reliability. VANETs assist in sharing traffic information effectively and timely to improve traffic efficiency and reliability. However, less storage capability and selfish behavior of the vehicles are important issues that need to be tackled. Moreover, traditional storage mechanisms require the involvement of third parties, which are insecure, untrustworthy, non-transparent, and unreliable. To overcome these issues, we proposed a blockchain-based data storage scheme for VANETs by exploiting the benefits of the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), which is deployed on Road Side Units (RSUs). Furthermore, RSUs are able to receive the aggregation packet comprising of the event information acquired from the vehicles. After receiving and verifying the aggregation packet, the RSU stores the event's information in IPFS and the reputation values of vehicles in blockchain. Moreover, we proposed an incentive mechanism in this work, in which monetary incentives are given to the repliers who agree with the vehicle regarding the event information. The incentives are given by the initiator after verifying the signatures of the repliers. All the transactions involved in the incentive process are stored in blockchain. The simulation results prove the efficiency of the proposed scheme in terms of transaction cost and storage savings in VANETs.