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Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensors and Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 46311

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Dr. Rupak Kharel

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Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
Interests: cyber-security; physical layer security; Internet of Things (IoT); Internet of Vehicles (IoV)
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Transportation systems have come a long way, and are no longer stand-alone entities. This is due to the advancements in the various emerging technologies that enable Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication. For example, one vehicle communicating with another vehicle on a vehicle-to vehicle (V2V) paradigm (e.g., to communicate traffic ahead, braking intention, lane changes, junction merges, etc.) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) where vehicles communicate with components such as traffic lights, street lights, signage, cameras, etc. The technology will become prevalent with the adoption of connected and autonomous vehicles and smart cities concepts in the near future. This will provide sustainable developments in transportation by enhancing safety and efficiency. This adoption of connected vehicles under the paradigm of intelligent transportation system will not come without challenges, and thus provides significant opportunities for emerging and novel research ideas. This Special Issue will focus on new advances and research results on vehicular networking, autonomous vehicles, sensor development and deployment, information fusion, decision making, traffic optimization, cyber security frameworks for the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), applications of 5G and beyond, etc.

Dr. Rupak Kharel
Guest Editor

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Keywords

5G and beyond technologies in IoV
Security, privacy, and trust in IoV
Solutions for virtual vehicle hijacking
Connected vehicles and autonomous vehicles
Ethical aspects of the use of AI in autonomous vehicles
Models, simulators, and test beds for ITS
Application of AI and machine learning for ITS
Unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) applications for ITS
Software-defined IoV
Electric vehicles ecosystem

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 5536 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Innovative Integrated Solution for Monitoring and Protection of Power Supply System from Railway Infrastructure

by Mihai Andrusca, Maricel Adam, Alin Dragomir and Eduard Lunca

Sensors 2021, 21(23), 7858; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21237858 - 25 Nov 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3104

Abstract

This paper describes an innovative integrated solution for monitoring and protection of the power supply system of electric traction. The development of electronics devices, new possibilities to communicate (wireless), and new sensors makes it possible to design, develop and implement new hardware–software structures in various fields such as energy systems, transportation infrastructure, etc. This contributes to increasing developments in the monitoring and protection of railway infrastructure. A monitoring and protection system that uses sensors and devices to acquire electrical parameters from railway infrastructure has been developed and applied for fault detection and protection of power supply systems from electric traction. The solution of monitoring and protection presented are composed of a hardware–software structure with Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) communication for monitoring of power supply installations from the electric traction and a central remote system composed of a device with GSM communication and a server that will allow, among others things, accurate detection of the block section (SC), in which an electrical fault (short circuit) has occurred, determination of the circuit breakers electro-erosion from the railway installations and an indication of the opportune moment for maintenance activity, respectively, as well as knowledge of the technical condition of some equipment from the return circuit. The proposed and developed method for monitoring devices has been validated in the railway laboratory to confirm its capability to detect defects and was tested in the field. Experimental results in the field and appropriate data analysis are included in this article. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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17 pages, 26798 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Product Integration of Established Crash Sensors for Safety Applications in Lightweight Vehicles

by Linda Klein, Yvonne Joseph and Matthias Kröger

Sensors 2021, 21(21), 6994; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21216994 - 21 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2449

Abstract

The functionality of products increases when more sensors are used. This trend also affects future automobiles and becomes even more relevant in connected and autonomous applications. Concerning automotive lightweight design, carbon fibre-reinforced polymers (CFRP) are suitable materials. However, their drawbacks include the relatively high manufacturing costs of CFRP components in addition to the difficulty of recycling. To compensate for the increased expenditure, the integration of automotive sensors in CFRP vehicle structures provides added value. As a new approach, established sensors are integrated into fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) structures. The sensors are usually mounted to the vehicle. The integration of sensors into the structure saves weight and space. Many other approaches specifically develop new sensors for integration into FRP structures. With the new approach, there is no need for elaborate development of new sensors since established sensors are used. The present research also showed that the range of applications of the sensors can be extended by the integration. The present paper outlines the functional behaviour of the integrated sensor utilized for crashing sensing. First of all, the integration quality of the sensor is relevant. Different requirements apply to the usual mounting of the sensor. The self-sensing structure must fulfil those requirements. Moreover, unfamiliar characteristics of the new surrounding structure might affect the sensing behaviour. Thus, the sensing behaviour of the self-sensing composite was analyzed in detail. The overarching objective is the general integration of sensors in products with reasonable effort. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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15 pages, 934 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bi-Level Coordinated Merging of Connected and Automated Vehicles at Roundabouts

by A. S. M. Bakibillah, Md Abdus Samad Kamal, Chee Pin Tan, Susilawati Susilawati, Tomohisa Hayakawa and Jun-ichi Imura

Sensors 2021, 21(19), 6533; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21196533 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3091

Abstract

Traditional uncoordinated traffic flows in a roundabout can lead to severe traffic congestion, travel delay, and the increased fuel consumption of vehicles. An interesting way to mitigate this would be through cooperative control of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). In this paper, we propose a novel solution, which is a roundabout control system (RCS), for CAVs to attain smooth and safe traffic flows. The RCS is essentially a bi-level framework, consisting of higher and lower levels of control, where in the higher level, vehicles in the entry lane approaching the roundabout will be made to form clusters based on traffic flow volume, and in the lower level, the vehicles’ optimal sequences and roundabout merging times are calculated by solving a combinatorial optimization problem using a receding horizon control (RHC) approach. The proposed RCS aims to minimize the total time taken for all approaching vehicles to enter the roundabout, whilst minimally affecting the movement of circulating vehicles. Our developed strategy ensures fast optimization, and can be implemented in real-time. Using microscopic simulations, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the RCS, and compare it to the current traditional roundabout system (TRS) for various traffic flow scenarios. From the results, we can conclude that the proposed RCS produces significant improvement in traffic flow performance, in particular for the average velocity, average fuel consumption, and average travel time in the roundabout. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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16 pages, 762 KiB

Open AccessArticle

UAV-Based Intelligent Transportation System for Emergency Reporting in Coverage Holes of Wireless Networks

by Abdullah M. Almasoud

Sensors 2021, 21(19), 6371; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21196371 - 24 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2076

Abstract

During critical moments, disaster and accident victims may not be able to request help from the emergency response center. This may happen when the victim’s vehicle is located within a coverage hole in a wireless network. In this paper, we adopt an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to work as an automatic emergency dispatcher for a user in a vehicle facing a critical condition. Given that the UAV is located within a coverage hole and a predetermined critical condition is detected, the UAV becomes airborne and dispatches distress messages to a communication network. We propose to use a path loss map for UAV trajectory design, and we formulate our problem mathematically as an Integer Linear Program (ILP). Our goals are to minimize the distress messages delivery time and the UAV’s mission completion time. Due to the difficulty of obtaining the optimal solution when the scale of the problem is large, we proposed an efficient algorithm that reduces the computational time significantly. We simulate our problem under different scenarios and settings, and study the performance of our proposed algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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22 pages, 1503 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhancing 5G Small Cell Selection: A Neural Network and IoV-Based Approach

by Ibtihal Ahmed Alablani and Mohammed Amer Arafah

Sensors 2021, 21(19), 6361; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21196361 - 23 Sep 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3487

Abstract

The ultra-dense network (UDN) is one of the key technologies in fifth generation (5G) networks. It is used to enhance the system capacity issue by deploying small cells at high density. In 5G UDNs, the cell selection process requires high computational complexity, so it is considered to be an open NP-hard problem. Internet of Vehicles (IoV) technology has become a new trend that aims to connect vehicles, people, infrastructure and networks to improve a transportation system. In this paper, we propose a machine-learning and IoV-based cell selection scheme called Artificial Neural Network Cell Selection (ANN-CS). It aims to select the small cell that has the longest dwell time. A feed-forward back-propagation ANN (FFBP-ANN) was trained to perform the selection task, based on moving vehicle information. Real datasets of vehicles and base stations (BSs), collected in Los Angeles, were used for training and evaluation purposes. Simulation results show that the trained ANN model has high accuracy, with a very low percentage of errors. In addition, the proposed ANN-CS decreases the handover rate by up to 33.33% and increases the dwell time by up to 15.47%, thereby minimizing the number of unsuccessful and unnecessary handovers (HOs). Furthermore, it led to an enhancement in terms of the downlink throughput achieved by vehicles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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17 pages, 7207 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Safety Reinforced Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control Strategy Accounting for Dynamic Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication Failure

by Yi Liu and Wei Wang

Sensors 2021, 21(18), 6158; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21186158 - 14 Sep 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4081

Abstract

Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) is an advanced technique for organizing and managing a vehicle platoon, which employs the Vehicle-to-Vehicle/Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2V/V2I, or V2X) wireless communication to minimize the inter-vehicle distance while guaranteeing string-stability. Consequently, the conventional CACC system relies heavily on the quality of communications, which means that the regular CACC platoon is sensitive to the communication failure. Therefore, in this paper, a Safety Reinforced Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (SR-CACC) strategy is proposed to resist unexpected communication failure. Different from the regular CACC system, the safety enhanced platoon control system is embedded with a dual-branch control strategy. When a fatal wireless communication failure is detected and confirmed, the SR-CACC system will automatically activate the alternative sensor-based adaptive cruise control strategy. Moreover, to make the transforming process smooth, a linear smooth transition algorithm is added to the SR-CACC system. Then, to verify the performance of the proposed SR-CACC system, we conducted a simulation experiment with a heterogonous platoon constructed with eight vehicles. The experiments results reveal that, under the extremely poor communication environment, the proposed SR-CACC strategy can significantly improve the safety performance of the organized vehicle platoon. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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16 pages, 6157 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prioritizing Roadway Pavement Marking Maintenance Using Lane Keep Assist Sensor Data

by Justin A. Mahlberg, Rahul Suryakant Sakhare, Howell Li, Jijo K. Mathew, Darcy M. Bullock and Gopi C. Surnilla

Sensors 2021, 21(18), 6014; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21186014 - 8 Sep 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4000

Abstract

There are over four million miles of roads in the United States, and the prioritization of locations to perform maintenance activities typically relies on human inspection or semi-automated dedicated vehicles. Pavement markings are used to delineate the boundaries of the lane the vehicle is driving within. These markings are also used by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for implementing advanced safety features such as lane keep assist (LKA) and eventually autonomous operation. However, pavement markings deteriorate over time due to the fact of weather and wear from tires and snowplow operations. Furthermore, their performance varies depending upon lighting (day/night) as well as surface conditions (wet/dry). This paper presents a case study in Indiana where over 5000 miles of interstate were driven and LKA was used to classify pavement markings. Longitudinal comparisons between 2020 and 2021 showed that the percentage of lanes with both lines detected increased from 80.2% to 92.3%. This information can be used for various applications such as developing or updating standards for pavement marking materials (infrastructure), quantifying performance measures that can be used by automotive OEMs to warn drivers of potential problems with identifying pavement markings, and prioritizing agency pavement marking maintenance activities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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29 pages, 1008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Service-Oriented Real-Time Communication Scheme for AUTOSAR Adaptive Using OPC UA and Time-Sensitive Networking

by Anna Arestova, Maximilian Martin, Kai-Steffen Jens Hielscher and Reinhard German

Sensors 2021, 21(7), 2337; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21072337 - 27 Mar 2021

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 8980

Abstract

The transportation industry is facing major challenges that come along with innovative trends like autonomous driving. Due to the growing amount of network participants, smart sensors, and mixed-critical data, scalability and interoperability have become key factors of cost-efficient vehicle engineering. One solution to overcome these challenges is the AUTOSAR Adaptive software platform. Its service-oriented communication methodology allows a standardized data exchange that is not bound to a specific middleware protocol. OPC UA is a communication standard that is well-established in modern industrial automation. In addition to its Client–Server communication pattern, the newly released Publish–Subscribe (PubSub) architecture promotes scalability. PubSub is designed to work in conjunction with Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), a collection of standards that add real-time aspects to standard Ethernet networks. TSN allows services with different requirements to share a single physical network. In this paper, we specify an integration approach of AUTOSAR Adaptive, OPC UA, and TSN. It combines the benefits of these three technologies to provide deterministic high-speed communication. Our main contribution is the architecture for the binding between Adaptive Platform and OPC UA. With a prototypical implementation, we prove that a combination of OPC UA Client–Server and PubSub qualifies as a middleware solution for service-oriented communication in AUTOSAR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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17 pages, 5590 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using ADAS to Future-Proof Roads—Comparison of Fog Line Detection from an In-Vehicle Camera and Mobile Retroreflectometer

by Ane Dalsnes Storsæter, Kelly Pitera and Edward McCormack

Sensors 2021, 21(5), 1737; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21051737 - 3 Mar 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4509

Abstract

Pavement markings are used to convey positioning information to both humans and automated driving systems. As automated driving is increasingly being adopted to support safety, it is important to understand how successfully sensor systems can interpret these markings. In this effort, an in-vehicle lane departure warning system was compared to data collected simultaneously from an externally mounted mobile retroreflectometer. The test, performed over 200 km of driving on three different routes in variable lighting conditions and road classes found that, depending on conditions, the retroreflectometer could predict whether the car’s lane departure systems would detect markings in 92% to 98% of cases. The test demonstrated that automated driving systems can be used to monitor the state of pavement markings and can provide input on how to design and maintain road infrastructure to support automated driving features. Since data about the condition of lane marking from multiple lane departure warning systems (crowd-sourced data) can provide input into the pavement marking management systems operated by many road owners, these findings also indicate that these automated driving sensors have an important role in enhancing the maintenance of pavement markings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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24 pages, 4809 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of Test Equipment for Pedestrian-Automatic Emergency Braking Based on C-NCAP (2018)

by Zhiqiang Song, Libo Cao and Clifford C. Chou

Sensors 2020, 20(21), 6206; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20216206 - 30 Oct 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3342

Abstract

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of a pedestrian-automatic emergency braking (PAEB) system on pedestrian protection, a set of PAEB test equipment was developed according to the test requirement of China-New Car Assessment Program (C-NCAP) (2018) in this study. In the aspect of system control strategy, global positioning system (GPS) differential positioning was used to achieve the required measurement and positioning accuracy, the collaborative control between the PAEB test equipment and automated driving robot (ADR) was achieved by wireless communication, and the motion state of the dummy target in the PAEB system was controlled by using the S-shaped-curve velocity control method. Part of the simulations and field tests were conducted according to the scenario requirements specified in C-NCAP (2018). The experimental and simulated results showed that the test equipment demonstrated high accuracy and precision in the process of testing, the dummy target movement was smooth and stable, complying with the requirements of PAEB tests set forth in C-NCAP (2018), and yielding satisfactory results as designed. Subsequently, the performance of the AEB of a vehicle under test (VUT) was conducted and the score for star-rating to evaluate the performance level of AEB calculated. Results indicated the developed test equipment in this study could be used to evaluate the performance of the PAEB system with effectiveness. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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20 pages, 2663 KiB

Open AccessArticle

OPC UA Publish-Subscribe and VSOME/IP Notify-Subscribe Based Gateway Application in the Context of Car to Infrastructure Communication

by Alexandru Ioana and Adrian Korodi

Sensors 2020, 20(16), 4624; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20164624 - 17 Aug 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4306

Abstract

With the recent advances in the area of OPC UA interfacing and the continuously growing requirements of the industrial automation world, combined with the more and more complex configurations of ECUs inside vehicles and services associated to car to infrastructure and even car to car communications, the gap between the two domains must be analyzed and filled. This gap occurred mainly because of the rigidness and lack of transparency of the software-hardware part of the automotive sector and the new demands for car to infrastructure communications. The issues are related to protocols as well as to conceptual views regarding requirements and already adopted individual directions. The industrial world is in the Industry 4.0 era, and in the Industrial Internet of Things context, its key interfacing enabler is OPC UA. Mainly to accommodate requirements related, among others, to high volumes, transfer rates, larger numbers of nodes, improved coordination and services, OPC UA enhances within its specifications the Publish-Subscribe mechanism and the TSN technology. In the OPC UA context, together with the VSOME/IP Notify-Subscribe mechanism, the current work is stepping toward a better understanding of the current relation between the needs of the industry and the suitable technologies, providing in-depth analysis on the most recent paradigms developed for data transmission, taking in consideration the real-time capabilities and use-cases of high concern in automation and automotive domains, and toward obtaining a VSOME/IP—OPC UA Gateway that includes the necessary characteristics and services in order to fill the protocol-related gap between the above mentioned fields. The developed case study results are proving the efficiency of the concept and are providing a better understanding regarding the impact between ongoing solutions and future requirements. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Connected Vehicles in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS))

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