Navigation route based stable clustering for vehicular ad hoc networks

Due to high node mobility, stability has been always one of the major concerns of vehicle clustering algorithms in vehicular ad hoc networks. In this paper, we propose a novel clustering algorithm based on the information of routes planned by vehicular navigation systems. In the clustering algorithm, we design a residual route time function to quantitatively calculate the overlapping time among vehicles based on route information, with which a novel clusterhead selection metric is presented. We further design a mechanism of future-clusterhead, which can help avoid message exchanges at intersections and reduce the overhead of cluster maintenance. The simulation results show that, compared with previous works, our clustering algorithm can achieve higher stability and at the same time lower communication cost.