PACKET RADIO ARCHITECTURE FOR IVHS : WHERE TIRE MEETS THE WIRELESS REVOLUTION

This article reports on a project studying Packet Radio Architectures ( PRA), a set of design options centered around the notion of radio transmissions within a dense network of distributed antennas installed in cars as well as in a future terrestrial infrastructure. As part of the California PATH Program, work currently in progress at the University of Southern California is focused on PRA applications to Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS). The work deals with future architectures that include fixed, distributed, dedicated communication nodes to which all the mobiles are to be connected via a cellular structure geared specifically to IVHS and centered around the freeway system.