Assessment of the Impact of Network Infrastructure Failure on Infrastructure-supported vs. Infrastructure-Less V2X Systems

With the increasing market penetration of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs), there will be a transformative impact on traffic flow dynamics, safety measures, and mobility management systems. Emerging technologies, such as CAVs combined with communication strategies, can promote efficient traffic management and mobility without solely relying on network infrastructure. This paper offers a comparative study of infrastructure-supported systems against vehicular communication-based systems with minimal reliance on existing infrastructure. Throughout this study, the latter is referred to as ‘infrastructure-less systems’. The conventional infrastructure-supported systems, although effective, are susceptible to infrastructure failures. The findings indicated that major network communication and operational delays, as well as reduced mobility and safety, were observed due to non-recurring failures within an infrastructure-supported system. The developed infrastructure-less-based network management system was tested using AIMSUN microscopic traffic simulator, where low latency and packet loss ratios were observed whilst maintaining mobility of the freeway even at peak travel times. These test cases help to leverage the shift to minimal cellular network reliance without sacrificing performance.