From Panoptic to Secure and Privacy-Preserving Lateral Surveillance in Vehicle Restricted Areas

In recent years, the implementation of vehicle restricted areas (e.g., Low Emission Zones or Congestion Charge Zones) has proven effective in addressing urban traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Traditionally, these zones have been enforced using the highly centralized and infrastructure-expensive panoptic model. However, recent advancements in smart vehicle technology have enabled a shift towards decentralized, infrastructure-free approaches such as the lateral surveillance model. While offering significant advantages, this novel model also presents relevant security and privacy challenges, including potential misuse and widespread surveillance. This paper introduces a novel autonomous, decentralized, and infrastructure-free solution aligned with the lateral surveillance model. Leveraging Blockchain technology and privacy preservation measures, the system ensures user anonymity during fee pricing and payment processes, and it is capable of detecting and sanctioning dishonest drivers. To assess the applicability of the new scheme in real-world scenarios, it was implemented and tested in controlled environments as well as a low-traffic street. The evaluation included an assessment of the gas costs associated with the smart contracts and a detailed scalability analysis. The theoretical and experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solution.