Sofware-Defined Space-Ground-Vehicle Integrated Network Architecture for Unconscious Payment

Abstract

The continuous development trend of expressways urgently needs expressway sensing, which is required to be able to perceive unknown risk factors to ensure a safe and stable transportation environment as well as effectively and continuously monitor the safe operation of expressways. Using unconscious payment can greatly improve traffic efficiency and meet the development direction of intelligent transportation. However, charging errors occur when using unconscious payment, primarily because the expressway network fails to realize national networking. Most of the literature focuses on two aspects of sensing, transmission and computing, while research on the overall network architecture is lacking. A ground network cannot solve the network coverage problem in remote areas. Therefore, the basic infrastructure needed to realize expressway sensing includes both aerial and ground nodes, such as cars, roadside equipment, unmanned aerial vehicles, airships, and satellites. This network communication architecture requires effective management of infrastructure and support of various applications. The software-defined network has strong flexibility; thus, in this paper, we propose a software-defined space-ground-vehicle integrated network (SD-SGVIN) architecture that includes three layers: physical facility, logic control, and application. The SD-SGVIN can separate the highway sensing applications from the physical entity. All kinds of applications can acquire, transmit, and process vehicle data through a shared physical infrastructure. We discuss the design, implementation, and advantages of the proposed network structure, hoping to provide a new direction for the research and promotion of expressway sensing and unconscious payment.