Wireless Communication Technologies for Vehicular Nodes

Abstract

In many countries, road accidents are a leading cause of death as well as being financially draining to the authorities concerned. This problem can be alleviated by having a mechanism to enable exchange of safety related messages to road users in a timely manner. This has given rise to active research in identifying the best technology. Providing comfort and smooth driving experience is also propelling the need to support vehicular communication. These groups of applications present opposing paradigms whereby safety related messages must be exchanged in real-time and characterized by short bursts of traffic and satisfying these diverse criteria are challenging for wireless communications that is the backbone of vehicular communication. Additionally, vehicular nodes sometimes move at high speeds, presenting an added dimension to the complexities surrounding vehicular communication. This article attempts to show the many myriad wireless technologies that have been tossed about as the solution. Choosing the most suitable candidate has to take into account many aspects. This article guides stakeholders such as transport policy decision makers, vehicle makers, and spectrum allocator, to enable them to make a wise and informed decision regarding the right mechanism to use to support vehicular communication.