Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks Research Articles

Cluster stability-driven optimization for enhanced routing in heterogeneous vehicular networks

The new era of the Internet of Things is promoting the evolution of self-driving vehicles into connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). The deployment of CAVs in smart cities is highly dependent on the performance of their underlying networks known as vehicular networks. Designing an effective clustering approach is of great importance in such dynamic networks as it can significantly improve the reliability and scalability of the routing protocols. In this paper, we consider a heterogeneous vehicular network architecture that supports vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications based on IEEE 802.11p and cellular networks (LTE/5G) with direct communications, namely cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technologies. We introduce a novel clustering scheme for real-time routing based on the proposed network architecture. We formulate the problem of optimal clustering for connected and autonomous vehicles (OCCAV) and show that the problem is NP-hard. We then develop a clusters' stability maximization algorithm (CSM), which utilizes the stability degree of vehicles over a prediction horizon to efficiently solve the optimization problem in real-time. The algorithm is used within a rolling horizon framework for continuously solving the problem, making the resulting clusters adaptive to future traffic dynamics. We propose a hybrid routing protocol based on our clustering scheme, aiming to improve the packet delivery ratio and reduce the average delivery delay. For evaluation purposes, we use extensive realistic simulations based on mobility scenarios validated using real vehicular trajectories. The results demonstrate that our clustering scheme improves the alternative algorithms in terms of the average cluster head duration, cluster head change rate, cluster member duration, and overall stability by 61%, 62%, 44%, and 52%, respectively. CSM also outperforms clustering overhead by 54%. Compared to the other cluster-based routing, our scheme also achieves a higher packet delivery ratio by up to 30%, and a lower average delay by up to 52%. To provide an in-depth analysis of the optimality of our scheme and its alternatives, we also use the Gurobi optimizer to find an optimal solution to the OCCAV problem. The results suggest that our scheme can achieve near-optimal cluster stability.

Joint energy and spectral optimization in Heterogeneous Vehicular Network

With the latest developments in both the automotive and communications industries, especially concerning the emerging 5G networks, IoV, and the adoption of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) connectivity, there has been a shift towards the establishment of Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks (HetVNets) environments. The rapid growth of data traffic and the drastic expansion of heterogeneous network infrastructure have resulted in a significant increase in energy consumption within wireless communication systems. Balancing energy efficiency and spectral efficiency has become a major challenge in Heterogeneous Vehicular networks, particularly concerning energy optimization, making the design of network systems considerably more challenging. Therefore, this paper attempts to optimize the energy utilized for each packet transmission, considering its stochastic nature and the optimized control parameters of two meta-heuristic algorithms-Particle Swarm Optimization and Artificial Bee Colony Optimization. The optimization process is executed using the Particle Bee Colony Swarm algorithm. Subsequently, a comparison is made with other proposed algorithms, namely LDOD, FO, RO, and MATO, in terms of energy efficiency and spectral efficiency. The performance analysis reveals that the numerical results outperform existing algorithms, demonstrating a 30.32% increase in spectral efficiency and 73.25% increase in energy efficiency.

An intelligent path management in heterogeneous vehicular networks

Achieving reliable connectivity in heterogeneous vehicular networks is a challenging task, owing to rapid topological changes and unpredictable vehicle speeds. As vehicular communication demands continue to evolve, multipath connectivity is emerging as an important tool, which promises to enhance network interoperability and reliability. Given the limited coverage area of serving access technologies, frequent disconnections are to be expected as the vehicle moves. To ensure seamless communication in dynamic vehicular environments, an intelligent path management algorithm for Multipath TCP (MPTCP) has been proposed. The algorithm utilizes a network selection mechanism based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), which dynamically assigns the most appropriate underlying network for each running application. The selection process takes into account multiple factors, such as path quality, vehicle mobility, and service characteristics. In contrast to existing solutions, our proposed method offers a dynamic and comprehensive approach to network selection that is tailored to the specific needs of each service to ensure that it is always paired with the optimal access technology. The results of the evaluation demonstrate that the proposed method is highly effective in maintaining service continuity during vertical handover. By tailoring the network selection to the specific needs of each application, our path manager is able to ensure optimal connectivity and performance, even in challenging vehicular environments, delivering a better user experience, with more reliable connections, and smoother data transfers.

Ensemble Learning Based Malicious Node Detection in SDN-Based VANETs

Background: The architecture of Software Defined Networking (SDN) integrated with Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) is considered a practical method for handling large-scale, dynamic, heterogeneous vehicular networks, since it offers flexibility, programmability, scalability, and a global understanding. However, the integration with VANETs introduces additional security vulnerabilities due to the deployment of a logically centralized control mechanism. These security attacks are classified as internal and external based on the nature of the attacker. The method adopted in this work facilitated the detection of internal position falsification attacks. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the performance of k-NN, SVM, Naïve Bayes, Logistic Regression, and Random Forest machine learning (ML) algorithms in detecting position falsification attacks using the Vehicular Reference Misbehavior (VeReMi) dataset. It also aimed to conduct a comparative analysis of two ensemble classification models, namely voting and stacking for final decision-making. These ensemble classification methods used the ML algorithms cooperatively to achieve improved classification. Methods: The simulations and evaluations were conducted using the Python programming language. VeReMi dataset was selected since it was an application-specific dataset for VANETs environment. Performance evaluation metrics, such as accuracy, precision, recall, F-measure, and prediction time were also used in the comparative studies. Results: This experimental study showed that Random Forest ML algorithm provided the best performance in detecting attacks among the ML algorithms. Voting and stacking were both used to enhance classification accuracy and reduce time required to identify an attack through predictions generated by k-NN, SVM, Naïve Bayes, Logistic Regression, and Random Forest classifiers. Conclusion: In terms of attack detection accuracy, both methods (voting and stacking) achieved the same level of accuracy as Random Forest. However, the detection of attack using stacking could be achieved in roughly less than half the time required by voting ensemble. Keywords: Machine learning methods, Majority voting ensemble, SDN-based VANETs, Security attacks, Stacking ensemble classifiers, VANETs,

Evaluation Mechanism for Decentralized Collaborative Pattern Learning in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

Collaborative machine learning, especially Federated Learning (FL), is widely used to build high-quality Machine Learning (ML) models in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). In this paper, we study the performance evaluation problem in an inherently heterogeneous IoV, where the final models across the network are not identical and are computed on different standards. Previous studies assume that local agents are receiving data from the same phenomenon, and a same final model is fitted to them. However, this “one model fits all” approach leads to a biased performance evaluation of individual agents. We propose a general approach to measure the performance of individual agents, where the common knowledge and correlation between different agents are explored. Experimental results indicate that our evaluation scheme is efficient in these settings.

A C-V2X Compatible Massive Data Download Scheme Based on Heterogeneous Vehicular Network

A C-V2X Compatible Massive Data Download Scheme Based on Heterogeneous Vehicular Network

Data Synchronization in Vehicular Digital Twin Network: A Game Theoretic Approach

A fundamental issue of the vehicular digital twin (DT) is efficiently synchronizing the data between the DT and the vehicular user (VUE). In this paper, we consider the heterogeneous vehicular networks (HetVNets) in which a VUE can connect to the network through different networks. The HetVNets can improve the efficiency of communication by providing seamless connections. However, the uneven distribution of VUEs and the dynamics of HetVNets make the environment more complex. Therefore, we propose the network selection algorithm for data synchronization between VUEs and DTs in the HetVNets, where the behaviour between the VUEs is considered as a competition for wireless resources. A learning-based prediction model residing in the DT is developed where the DT can predict the waiting time of each relay and transmit the predicted results to the VUE for decision-making. We model the network selection problem as a potential game considering both the transmission time and the waiting time obtained from the prediction model and prove the existence of Nash equilibrium (NE). We analyze the performance of the proposed algorithm, and simulation results show that our approach can effectively find the optimal strategy while achieving a fast convergence speed and high-level performance compared to the baselines.

On-Demand Self-Media Data Trading in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

With the rapid development of autonomous driving and heterogeneous vehicular networks (HetVNets), vehicles can collect data and generate valuable information to obtain profits, thus forming a new vehicular self-media paradigm. However, with potential security risks, the current data trading schemes in the HetVNets lack the comprehensive consideration of the requirements of the participants including media data producers (MDPs), media data sellers (MDSs), and media data buyers (MDBs) to design a trading framework that integrates data caching services and data selling services. To this end, we propose an on-demand self-media data trading scheme in HetVNets. Specifically, based on blockchain and smart contracts, we first design an on-demand self-media trading architecture that jointly considers the data caching services and the data selling services to provide the participants with a secure transaction environment. In the data caching phase, by considering the value of media data generated by the MDPs and the sales capabilities of different MDSs, we model the requirements of the MDPs and the MDSs as utility functions and formulate the interactions between them as a Stackelberg game, where an iterative algorithm is designed for the MDPs and the MDSs to obtain their optimal strategies. In the data selling phase, we consider the diversified requirements of the MDBs and propose an iteration-based mechanism to help the MDSs dynamically determine the data selling strategies. Compared with the traditional schemes, the simulation results show that our scheme can obtain the optimal strategies for the MDPs and the MDSs and bring them the highest utilities.

Digital-Twin-Enabled On-Demand Content Delivery in HetVNets

The heterogeneous vehicular networks (HetVNets) can accelerate the deployment of Internet of vehicles (IoV) and enrich the content distribution methods. However, the diverse requirements of vehicular users (VUs), the limited cache resources of roadside units (RUs), and the frequent interactions between VUs and RUs pose great challenges to efficiently distribute contents. To address these challenges, we propose an on-demand content delivery scheme in digital twin enabled HetVNets (DT-HetVNets). Specifically, we first design an on-demand content delivery architecture in DT-HetVNets which uses DT communication mode to simplify the frequent interactions between VUs and RUs. With this architecture, by jointly considering the popularity of each content and the relevance between different contents, the personal content requirement of each DT of VU (DT-VU) can be perceived and the VUs within the coverage of the same RU can collaboratively request contents in groups. Then, we formulate the interaction between each group and the DT of the RU (DT-RU) as a double auction game to determine the transaction price of the perceived content, where the request information of the contents which are accepted by the groups can be shared between different DT-RUs based on the path of each group, enabling collaborative content recommendation between the RUs. After that, by jointly considering the contents recommended by different DT-RUs and the content popularity, the content caching model of each DT-RU is formulated as a knapsack problem, where a collaborative content caching algorithm is designed to obtain the optimal caching strategy with the target of making full use of the limited cache resources. Compared with the conventional schemes, the simulation results show that our scheme can not only bring the highest utility to the RUs, but also lead to the highest hit ratio and the lowest delay.

Bandwidth and frequency agile MIMO antenna for cognitive vehicular communications

SummaryA reconfigurable MIMO antenna for heterogeneous vehicular networks is reported in this paper. The frequency and bandwidth characteristics of the MIMO antenna can be reconfigured to meet multi‐standard and multi‐frequency requirements in automobiles. The antenna element evolved from an edge‐chamfered ultra‐wideband (UWB) antenna operating from 2.1 to >15 GHz. The bandwidth reconfiguration is achieved through the selection of excitation paths connecting the feed and radiator. The feedline selection is performed using PIN diodes, making the antenna operate in three distinct modes, namely, UWB mode (Mode 1: 2.1–>15 GHz), industrial, scientific and medical/Internet of Things (ISM/IoT) mode (Mode 2: 2.45 GHz), and wireless local area network (WLAN) mode (Mode 3: 5–6 GHz). The feed path corresponding to Mode 2 and Mode 3 is incorporated with a suitable filtering network to shape the frequency response of the antenna based on the user's requirements. Owing to the requirement of cognitive selection of frequency bands, the frequency tunability in Mode 2 is realized using varactor diodes. The varactor‐incorporated feed path reconfigures the center frequency between 2.45 and 3.5 GHz. The proposed MIMO antenna offers gain and total efficiency greater than 2.94 dBi and 76%, respectively. The prototype of the 4‐port MIMO antenna is being fabricated to test its functionality in real time.

Efficient Detection and Localization of DoS Attacks in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

Vehicular communication has emerged as a powerful tool for providing a safe and comfortable driving experience for users. Long Term Evolution (LTE) supports and enhances the quality of vehicular communication due to its properties such as high data rate, spatial reuse, and low delay. However, high mobility of vehicles introduces a wide variety of security threats, including Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks. In this paper, we propose effective solutions for real-time detection and localization of DoS attacks in an LTE-based vehicular network with mobile network components (e.g., vehicles, femto access points, etc.). We consider malicious data transmission by vehicles in two ways- using real identification (unintentional) and using fake identification (intentional). This paper makes three important contributions. First, we propose an efficient attack detection technique based on data packet counter and average Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR). Next, we present an improved attack detection framework using machine learning algorithms. We use some ML-based supervised classification algorithms to make detection more robust and consistent. Finally, we propose Data Packet Counter (DPC)-based, triangulation-based and measurement report based localization for both intentional and unintentional DoS attacks. We analyze the average packet delay incurred by vehicles by modelling the system as an <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$M/M/m$</tex-math></inline-formula> queue. Our experimental evaluation demonstrates that our proposed technique significantly outperforms state-of-the-art techniques.

Trends and Open Research Issues in Intelligent Internet of Vehicles

Abstract The evolution of vehicles has always been continuous with respect to growth in technology.The concept of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is the process of allowing vehicles to interact with each other to provide real-time information. This paper introduces the various aspects of IoV and their components. Despite the fact that there are more and more vehicles connected to the IoV, there are still many unknown issues and potentials that needs to be identified to carry out research. In order to identify and classify the current difficulties in implementing and using IoV in urban cities, various research publications on the topic were analysed in this paper. The limitations of the Internet of Vehicular technology are also described. Additionally, a number of current and potential remedies that address the highlighted problems were briefly covered. The background information and reasons for evolving heterogeneous vehicular networks are thoroughly reviewed in this research. Also highlights the key technologies of IoV, network architecture and comparison of IoV architecture models with focus on different communication models The most modern IoV enabling technologies are also highlighted, along with environmental scope of intelligent internet of vehicles. Finally, the paper has reviewed the open research issues of Intelligent IoV such as Poor Connectivity of on road vehicles and Stability, Hard delay constraints, High reliability requirements, high scalability, Security and privacy, etc. and related solutions.

An Intelligent Congestion Avoidance Mechanism Based on Generalized Regression Neural Network for Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

An Intelligent Congestion Avoidance Mechanism Based on Generalized Regression Neural Network for Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

Digital Twins Enabled On-Demand Matching for Multi-Task Federated Learning in HetVNets

In the heterogeneous vehicular networks (HetVNets), the roadside units (RUs) can exploit the massive amounts of valuable data collected by vehicles to complete federated learning tasks. However, most of the existing studies consider the scenario of one task requester (TR) and ignore the fact that multiple TRs may concurrently request their model training tasks in the HetVNets. In this paper, we consider the scenario of multi-TR and multi-RU and propose a digital twins (DT) enabled on-demand matching scheme for multi-task federated learning to address the two-way selection problem between TRs and RUs. Specifically, by jointly considering the diversified requirements of the TRs and the differentiated training capabilities of the RUs, we first design a DT enabled on-demand matching architecture to facilitate the multi-task federated learning in the HetVNets. Then, based on the personalized requirement of the DT of each TR (DT-TR), a marginal utility based vehicle selection mechanism is proposed to enable the DT of each RU (DT-RU) to determine the customized model training strategy. With the determined strategies, the two-way selection problem between the DT-TRs and the DT-RUs is formulated as an on-demand matching game in DT networks, where a matching algorithm is designed to obtain their optimal strategies. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional schemes in terms of training accuracy, performance-cost ratio (PCR), and task completion rate (TCR).

A Memetic Algorithm for Cooperative Complex Task Offloading in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

With the booming of intelligent connected vehicles as well as the emergence of edge computing paradigm, complex task offloading becomes a critical yet promising issue in vehicular networks to enable various real-time and scalable future intelligent systems. This article makes the first effort on proposing an end-edge-cloud cooperation architecture together with a tailored memetic algorithm for complex task offloading in heterogeneous vehicular networks. Specifically, we consider the scenario where a complex task consists of multiple subtasks, which require different amount of resources for being processed, and a task is completed only when all of its subtasks have been processed. Then, we formulate a Cooperative Complex Task Offloading (CCTO) problem by considering heterogeneous computation, communication and memory capacities of nodes in vehicular networks, as well as task dependency and mobility of vehicles, targeting at minimizing average service delay of the system. We prove that CCTO is NP-hard by constructing a polynomial time reduction from the parallel machines scheduling problem (PMSP). Further, we propose a memetic computing based algorithm named MDMA (Meme Dependency-aware Memetic Algorithm), which consists of a meme dependency based encoding solution, a mix-strategy for initialization, a dedicated offspring generation scheme, a meme recombined strategy for local search, and a task feature driven method for repairing infeasible solutions. Finally, we build a simulation model and give a comprehensive performance evaluation. The results demonstrate the superiority of MDMA on minimizing the service delay by best exploiting heterogeneous resources in vehicular networks.

A Cross-layer Approach for MPTCP Path Management in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

A Cross-layer Approach for MPTCP Path Management in Heterogeneous Vehicular Networks

User Association in a Heterogeneous Vehicular Network With Roadside Units and Vehicle Relays

This letter investigates the behavior of users in a vehicular network where there are two types of transmitters—roadside units (RSUs) and vehicle relays. We address the unique network geometry of such a network by adapting the Cox point process, the double slope path loss, and the strongest average power user association. We derive the probability that users are associated with either RSUs or relays. The association formula explicitly quantifies the change of user association behavior when the heterogeneous vehicular network has two types of transmitters distinctive in their transmit powers and densities. Leveraging this letter, one can explore the potential and benefits of heterogeneous vehicular networks with RSUs and vehicle relays.

Adaptive QoS-Aware Multi-Metrics Gateway Selection Scheme for Heterogenous Vehicular Network

A heterogeneous vehicular network (HetVNET) is a promising network architecture that combines multiple network technologies such as IEEE 802.11p, dedicated short-range communication (DSRC), and third/fourth generation cellular networks (3G/4G). In this network area, vehicle users can use wireless fidelity access points (Wi-Fi APs) to offload 4G long-term evolution (4G-LTE) networks. However, when using Wi-Fi APs, the vehicles must organize themselves and select an appropriate mobile gateway (MGW) to communicate to the cellular infrastructure. Researchers are facing the problem of selecting the best MGW vehicle to aggregate vehicle traffic and reduce LTE load in HetVNETs when the Wi-Fi APs are unavailable for offloading. The selection process utilizes extra network overhead and complexity due to the frequent formation of clusters in this highly dynamic environment. In this study, we proposed a non-cluster adaptive QoS-aware gateway selection (AQAGS) scheme that autonomously picks a limited number of vehicles to act as LTE gateways based on the LTE network’s load status and vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) application’s QoS requirements. The present AQAGS scheme focuses on highway scenarios. The proposed scheme was evaluated using simulation of Urban mobility (SUMO) and network simulator version 2 (NS2) simulators and benchmarked with the clustered and non-clustered schemes. A comparison was made based on the end-to-end delay, throughput, control packet overhead (CPO), and packet delivery ratio (PDR) performance metrics over Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) applications. Using VoIP, the AQAGS scheme achieved a 26.7% higher PDR compared with the other schemes.

DAG-Based Smart Contract for Dynamic 6G Wireless EVs Charging System

This study proposes a novel secure and lightweight charging scheduling framework approach to provide the customization of edge computing services and personalized edge computing services for Moving EVs (MEVs) and Parking EVs (PEVs) in 6G heterogeneous Vehicular Networks (HetVNETs). A DAG-based smart-contract well-protected edge computing structural design is specially designed in the scheme by taking the wireless charging models into account including the attributes of 6G smart devices, where each vehicle network infrastructure copes with some more EVs in parking station wireless zone (PEVs) to make computing services whole through a wireless task. Each communication network handles a group of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in the parking zone to fulfill Cloud Computing Services (CCS) in wireless charging tasks. With this architecture, the collaborative computing resource allocation (CCRA) algorithm is developed to assist each network computing and communication hardware and software systems in deciding a customized service strategy (CSS) to fulfill the fast wireless charging and secure easy access of MEVs based on the widely available computational complexity solution held by various network infrastructures.

Large-Size Data Distribution in IoV Based on 5G/6G Compatible Heterogeneous Network

The distribution of large-size data block in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), especially in the urban IoV with dense vehicles, is still a challenge issue. Though the methods based on 5G-cellular network commonly can efficiently distribute the large-size file in IoVs, they also have obvious defects, such as occupying scarce 5G resources, generating communication fees and limited service coverage. This paper focuses on distributing large-size data block in IoVs based on dedicated vehicular ad hoc network to reduce the relying on cellular (5G/6G) resources. A heterogeneous vehicular network (HetVNET), in which a short-range OFDM wideband communication (SOWC) with ultra-high data rate and the original IEEE 802.11p protocol are included, is first proposed. To match with the proposed HetVNET, a content-centric data distribution scheme based on edge caching is designed. The content-centric data distribution architecture for distributing large-size file, the cache node selection and the process of data distribution and control based on the HetVNET are studied. The 5G/6G communication can be enabled in the scheme to further enhance the engineering stability of the massive infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) broadcast in IoVs. The evaluation results show that the proposed approach has low delivery delay and high penetration ratio.