Urban Infrastructure-to-Vehicle Traffic Data Dissemination Using UEP Rateless Codes

In this paper we propose an end-to-end solution for urban infrastructure-to-vehicle traffic data delivery based on a class of unequal error protection (UEP) rateless codes called expanding window fountain (EWF) codes. The proposed solution relies on attractive features that rateless codes introduce to networks with unpredictable dynamics: the universal capacity approaching property which is well-matched to time-varying behavior of wireless links, and the innovative nature of each encoded packet which makes both time-consuming retransmission and content-reconciliation mechanisms unnecessary. Furthermore, usage of EWF codes allows separation of delivered data in importance classes with different error protection and recovery time guarantees, enabling mobile users to retrieve more important information more reliably and in shorter time span, thus making the proposed solution suitable for time-critical services. The addressed urban communication scenario consists of large number of sensors that sample and relay traffic flow information to network of Access Points (APs). APs use the existing underlying communication infrastructure, such as metropolitan area networks (MANs), to exchange traffic flow data, encode it using EWF coding principles, and finally disseminate it to roaming vehicles that join the network service in an ad-hoc manner in order to retrieve information regarding the surrounding environment. The proposed approach is suitable for real-time applications, such as frequent periodic reporting of urban traffic conditions, that could be used by on-board computers to provide improved navigation for end-users.