Methods and tools for performance evaluation and validation of vehicle-roadside communications proposed for standardization

Analytical methods as well as the simulative tools developed for the performance evaluation and validation of the dedicated vehicle roadside short-range communication (DSRC) protocols proposed for standardization in Europe (CEN/TC278/WG9) and in North America are presented. First, the basic concept of the medium access control protocol for vehicles entering the communication zone of a roadside beacon is described. Then, the analytical methods and tools (MARCO) for medium access using new multilevel Markov chain models are presented, in which the dynamic arrival of up to n vehicles and the completion of the full transaction (AFC, automatic fee collection) is taken into account. Furthermore, the characteristics of the two simulative tools SIMCO-F/DSRC and SIMCO3++/DSRC are described. These tools are validated by comparison of the analytical results of the MARCO tool with the results of the simulative tools. Finally, the disadvantages, advantages and recommended usage of these methods and tools for the validation of the dedicated vehicle-roadside short-range communications as well as for the DSRC system calibration are discussed.