Challenges and Solutions for Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks Based on Lightweight Blockchains

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper presents a review on the Challenges and Solutions for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks based on Lightweight Blockchains. This reviewer has the following comments and questions:

 

1- Please define Lightweight blockchains. Please include such explanation on your manuscript.

2- Please explain Table 1. Please include such explanation on your manuscript.

3- Please explain the pros and against of the lightweight blockchain. Please include such explanation on your manuscript.

4-  Please improve the resolution quality of Figure 5. Please explain how these locations' effects were derived. Please include such explanation on your manuscript.

5- Please expand on section 4. Please include some analytical or empirical analysis to support the solutions claims.  Please include such explanation on your manuscript. 

Author Response

We have address all the concerns raided by the reviewers. Our rebuttal is attached as file . Thanks. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

In this article the authors provide a survey on the implementation of blockchain in VANETs. The article gives information about VANETs and blockchain. Some of the related work in the field are mentioned. A detailed overview of blockchain is given followed by lightweight block chain and its various implementation methods in VANET environment. Some comments are as below,

 

The writing style of this paper is not good enough. Authors should spend some time improving it so that the paper can be read more smoothly.

 

The authors need to better explain the context of this research, including why the research problem is important. The introduction must be improved, it should clearly explain the key limitations of prior work that are relevant to this paper. Contributions should be highlighted more. It should be made clear what is novel and how it addresses the limitations of prior work.

 

The authors should add a table that compares the key characteristics of prior work to highlight their differences and limitations. The authors may also consider adding a line in the table to describe the proposed solution.

 

The related work section must be enhanced. The references are appropriate; however, they are limited considering the scope of the article. 

 

There should be additional figure(s) which explain the different methods to use blockchain in VANETS.

Author Response

Our responce to the concerns raised by the reviewers is attached as the file. We would like to thank the reviewers, for their valuable comments, which has enhanced the manuscript. 

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Summary/Contribution: The article analyzes lightweight blockchain implementation difficulties and solutions for Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs). The article emphasizes adapting blockchains to VANETs' ad-hoc, resource-constrained contexts and ensuring security while lowering blockchain size. The authors suggest adding reputation to consensus processes, condensing consensus committees, leveraging geographical information, and monitoring node activity to create lightweight blockchains. The article underlines the necessity for lightweight blockchains that can solve unique problems, such as emergency messaging that demands real-time responses, for highly mobile nodes.


Comments/Suggestions:
1. The authors could provide a more detailed explanation of what blockchain is and how it works, especially for readers who may not be familiar with the technology. This could include a brief discussion of the distributed ledger, cryptographic hashing, and the role of nodes in the network.

2. The discussion on VANETs could be expanded to provide more context and background information. For example, the authors could explain why efficient traffic management is important in smart cities and how VANETs can help address this issue.

3. The authors could provide more information on the challenges that VANETs face with respect to routing algorithms and emergency event messages. This could help readers understand the specific problems that the proposed lightweight blockchain solutions aim to address.

4. The authors could provide more detail on the state of the art in research on lightweight blockchains for VANETs. For example, what are some of the existing approaches and what are their limitations? This could help readers understand the gaps that the proposed solutions aim to fill.

5. The authors could provide a brief overview of the different consensus mechanisms used in blockchain, and how they relate to lightweight blockchains in VANETs.

6. The paper could benefit from clearer subheadings to differentiate between the different topics discussed. This would make it easier for readers to follow the flow of the text and understand the different aspects of the proposed solutions.

7. Formal methods can be used to verify the correctness of smart contract code, which can help to prevent costly errors and security breaches. Therefore, it is important to discuss the use of formal methods in your paper.

8. For this purpose, the authors may include the following interesting references (and others):

a. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9970534

b. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8328737

Author Response

please see the attachment

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report

The authors considered my comments and suggestions