On the Information Propagation Speed in Mobile Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

In this paper, we study the information propagation speed in a 1D mobile ad hoc network formed by vehicles Poissonly distributed on a highway and travelling in the same direction but with random Gaussianly-distributed speeds, independent between vehicles. Assume that time is divided into time slots of equal length and that each vehicle changes its speed at the beginning of each time slot, independent of its speed in other time slots. We derive analytical formulas for the IPS in the above network under the unit disk model. Using the formula, we can straightforwardly study the impact on the information propagation speed of various parameters such as vehicle density, speed and radio range. The accuracy of the formula is validated using simulations. The research provides useful guidelines on the design of vehicular ad hoc networks.