Modeling and evaluation of cooperative Vulnerable Road User protection schemes in realistic C-ITS environments

Abstract

Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) comprising pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists are more susceptible to road traffic accidents and fatalities than other road users. Improving safety for vulnerable road users is a priority for many cities and governments, and various measures are being taken to reduce the risk of accidents and increase road safety. Advanced Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) that facilitate Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication encompass Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) schemes. To address the issues and decrease the number of VRU fatalities, efficient VRU protection solutions can be seamlessly incorporated into evolving C-ITS services. This paper introduces a novel implementation and integration of VRU protection models into the Artery/OMNeT++ V2X-simulation framework as a promising solution for further wide-scale evolution in enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users. VRUs can transmit messages about their existence using the VRU Awareness Message (VAM) messaging protocol. This paper presents a performance evaluation of cooperative VRU protection scenarios with VAM protocol and deployment. Simulation results will be given for pedestrian protection models with VRU detection using sensors, collective perception, and active, VAM-based VRU Awareness message transmission.