How to Utilize Interflow Network Coding in VANETs: A Backbone-Based Approach

It is particularly challenging to design an efficient routing protocol for vehicular ad hoc networks due to the vehicle movement, limited wireless resources, and lossy feature of the wireless channel. We propose a protocol which uses common backbone vehicles for different traffic flows, as well as employs interflow network coding to encode packets at the backbone vehicles. A reliably connected backbone is selected by taking into account vehicle movement dynamics and link quality between vehicles. By using interflow network coding at the backbone vehicles, the protocol is able to reduce the number of generated packets by 25% in most cases compared with the conventional routing approach. As a result, the proposed protocol can provide a high packet delivery ratio, low overhead, and low delay. We show the effectiveness of the protocol using theoretical analysis and computer simulations.