Using Ad-hoc Inter-vehicle Networks For Regional Alerts

Abstract

Ad-hoc inter-vehicle networks will soon be a reality as cars become equipped with wireless communication system. One use of an inter-vehicle network is to propagate alerts such as accidents and road conditions within a region. Unlike previous work in the area that focuses on instantaneous delivery of an alert to all reachable cars, this work studies the problem where an alert needs to be maintained for a duration of time. In other words, we must also notify cars that become reachable after the alert begins. Maintaining an alert for a duration is important because other cars can then take precautions or change their travel path to avoid the condition. Moreover, we do not require the original initiator of an alert to be stationary and constantly repeating the alert. In this paper, we formally define the problem and its correctness. We provide an efficient protocol that minimizes the number of broadcasts needed for maintaining a regional alert over a period of time, and we evaluate our protocol through simulation.