Applications, requirements, and design guidelines for multi-tiered vehicular network architecture

Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication spurs the possibilities to develop a wide range of vehicular applications and use cases. V2X communications enable applications mainly in three categories, namely active road safety, traffic efficiency and infotainment to prevent accidents, improve traffic flows thus reduce road congestions and make the travel enjoyable, respectively. These applications demand varying functional and performance requirements and accommodating most, if not all in one wireless access technology presents several new challenges. In this paper, we proposed a novel multi-tiered architecture consisting of mainly two wireless access technologies, i.e., IEEE 802.11p and 4G/LTE standards to support vehicular applications. Next, a set of basic design guidelines for the hybrid approach integrating vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) with cellular (4G/LTE) network is provided. We also included a detailed review of the requirements in terms of several system performance metrics for each type of vehicular applications. Finally, we presented preliminary results on the potential of combining multiple radio access technologies (RATs) for supporting V2X communications.