Performance evaluation of networking protocols for connected vehicles

Modern cars feature many embedded systems that monitor and manage all the critical sensors and actuators. The interconnection of such systems is a challenging task since the information to be exchanged is of mission-critical nature and affects the driving experience. The vehicle connectivity can be further extended with Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) technology, which allows cars to exchange sensory information and even act on it. In this article a unified networking architecture is presented, starting from the inside of the vehicle and the interconnection of various control units and ultimately targeting Car-to-Car communications which enable smarter, safer and more efficient transportation. The researchers review and evaluate the performance of Power Line Communications as a solution for in-car networking. Then the safety-critical data as well as multimedia originating from each individual vehicle's in-car network are broadcasted to other neighbouring vehicles via IEEE 802.11p in a simulation environment featuring realistic vehicular mobility.