Sensor-Aided V2X Beam Tracking for Connected Automated Driving: Distributed Architecture and Processing Algorithms

Abstract

This paper focuses on ultra-reliable low-latency Vehicle-to-Anything (V2X) communications able to meet the extreme requirements of high Levels of Automation (LoA) use cases. We introduce a system architecture and processing algorithms for the alignment of highly collimated V2X beams based either on millimeter-Wave (mmW) or Free-Space Optics (FSO). Beam-based V2X communications mainly suffer from blockage and pointing misalignment issues. This work focuses on the latter case, which is addressed by proposing a V2X architecture that enables a sensor-aided beam-tracking strategy to counteract the detrimental effect of vibrations and tilting dynamics. A parallel low-rate, low-latency, and reliable control link, in fact, is used to exchange data on vehicle kinematics (i.e., position and orientation) that assists the beam-pointing along the line-of-sight between V2X transceivers (i.e., the dominant multipath component for mmW, or the direct link for FSO). This link can be based on sub-6 GHz V2X communication, as in 5G frequency range 1 (FR1). Performance assessments are carried out to validate the robustness of the proposed methodology in coping with misalignment induced by vehicle dynamics. Numerical results show that highly directional mmW and/or FSO communications are promising candidates for massive data-rate vehicular communications even in high mobility scenarios.

Sensor-Aided Beamwidth and Power Control for Next Generation Vehicular Communications

“…This work aims to cover the above gap in the development and validation of a sensor-assisted BPC method to enhance the V2V performance in highly dynamic scenarios. The proposed BPC strategy extends the sensor-aided BAT method, detailed in our previous publications [23]- [25]. The proposed BPC relies on cooperative processing of Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Measurements Units (IMU) data from vehicles, mutually exchanged over a dedicated sub-6 GHz (e.g., 5G NR FR1) control link, so that the multi-gigabit link (e.g., 5G NR FR2) enables to meet the stringent requirements of eV2X applications.…”

“…The problem of BC for V2X system is mostly related to BAT, which has been largely addressed in the recent literature under many different perspectives, with the ultimate goal of improving the performance of conventional beam sweeping procedures, in terms of overhead reduction and increased spectral efficiency [15]- [17]. Recent advances in dynamic BC have shown the relevant role of the knowledge of vehicles' position and their instantaneous dynamics (orientation, vibrations) [8], [18]- [25].…”

Recent Trends on IoT Systems for Traffic Monitoring and for Autonomous and Connected Vehicles

“…The special issue is characterized by 11 original research papers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. The first paper [1], "Towards an End-to-End Framework of CCTV-Based Urban Traffic Volume Detection and Prediction", is written by M. V. Peppa, T. Komar, Wen Xiao, P. James, C. Robson, Jin Xing, and S. Barr from the University of Newcastle, UK; and the University of Melbourne, Australia.…”

“…The special issue is characterized by 11 original research papers [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

“…The paper [ 7 ], titled “Sensor-Aided V2X Beam Tracking for Connected Automated Driving: Distributed Architecture and Processing Algorithms”, with authors from Politecnico di Milano, Italy: M. Brambilla, L. Combi, A. Matera, D. Tagliaferri, M. Nicoli, and U. Spagnolini.…”