Software Defined V2X Mesh Networking for Autonomous Vehicles in a Controlled Environment

Autonomous Vehicles is one of the hot topics nowadays. We believe the first mass deployment of autonomous vehicles will happen in controlled environments such as gated retirement communities and huge tourist resorts or entertainment parks. We have introduced an autonomously driven golf cart (JACart: James Madison Autonomous-golf Cart) meant to be implemented for Elderly communities [1]. It is essential to have the golf cart connected to a cloud server in case of incidents or emergencies (e.g., medical assistance needed for an elderly passenger). In this paper, we highlight the critical feature of the JACart: to be connected to a cloud server in case of emergencies, like if a passenger needs medical assistance.The main objective of this paper is to make sure that JACart’s communication network is reliable; this paper reviewed various communication technologies as potential solutions (e.g., ZigBee technology) and created a proof-of-concept testbed using 802.11-based hardware and open-source software/firmware. The testbed is cloud-centered, which allows for easy management of the network. We analyzed the data collected from various experiments to determine how well the testbed performed on the project testing grounds, and preliminary feedback from end users was primarily positive. We conclude that a highly mobile, Wi-Fi-based mesh network is viable for permanent installation and integration into the deployment of autonomous vehicles in a controlled environment.