Emergency Vehicle Traversal using DSRC/WAVE based Vehicular Communication

The response time of emergency vehicles (EVs) determines the outcome of many emergencies, thus improving the traversal time of EVs is of paramount importance. Vehicular communication is a key enabler of such an improvement. This paper studies two EV traversal algorithms, focusing mainly on their communication aspects. Fast moving dense traffic is modeled, and the traversal algorithms are implemented on top of the dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) / wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE) protocol stack, while accounting for channel impairments such as path loss and fading. Algorithms that highlight the required packet transfers for the traversal and for safe lane changes are presented, and simulated in the VEINS framework for different traffic conditions. Simulation results show that the suitability of the EV traversal algorithms defer depending on the speed distribution of the vehicles. Further insights drawn from the simulation are utilized to fine tune the EV traversal algorithms and to decrease the traversal time further.