The vehicular ad hoc network is one of the key enabling components in Intelligent Transportation Systems that has been developed for safe and smooth driving without excessive delays. A major hurdle in the development of the networks for time-dependent safety-critical services is the lack of established models and metrics. These enable one to determine the effectiveness of the network design mechanisms for predictable quality of service, and allow the evaluation of the tradeoff between network parameters.
This collaborative research project between Oral Roberts University and Duke University analyzes and suggests enhancements of safety-critical services in vehicular ad hoc networks. Several key issues are investigated in the project. First, the project develops stochastic modeling techniques to address some open problems, such as hidden terminal issues and rebroadcast coverage problems in two-dimensional broadcast vehicular networks under typical traffic scenarios. Second, new analytical models are developed for time-dependent analysis of time-critical safety services. Consequently, performance, reliability, and survivability metrics for the safety services are defined and analyzed. Third, new solutions to assure reliable delivery of emergency messages and novel analytical model based cross-layer protocols are designed and studied. Broad impact of the work is that the outcome of this research is deemed to be beneficial to the design and analysis of general mobile ad hoc networks for critical missions. This project creates new collaborative opportunities with the industry. Both graduate and under-graduate level courses are developed to integrate the scientific findings of the project with current teaching activities at the two universities.
