An Efficient Cluster-Based Data Sharing Algorithm for Bidirectional Road Scenario in Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks

Efficient data sharing in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) is one of the fundamental requirements to enable emerging intelligent transportation systems. Much research has focused on the routing algorithms and MAC protocols in VANETs. However, unique characteristics of data sharing for bidirectional road scenarios make it challenging to design an efficient scheduling algorithm. In this work, we present the data sharing model among vehicles driving in opposite directions, and investigate the potential interference caused by simultaneous vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. On this basis, we propose a cluster-based algorithm to implement efficient data sharing in bidirectional road scenarios. Specifically, we design a time slot division policy to assign the clusters with specific slots according to the driving directions and relative positions of vehicles. Then, based on certain required quality of services, we derive a theoretical model by analyzing the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) in V2V communications, which determines how to divide vehicles into different clusters. Finally, we build the simulation model and give an extensive performance evaluation, which demonstrates that the proposed algorithm is efficient in terms of enhancing data throughput under different traffic workloads.