Inter vehicular ad hoc routing protocol and communication system
A routing protocol and inter-vehicle communication system adapted for use with a traveling host vehicle, and at least one traveling remote vehicle, includes a locator sub-system configured to determine a plurality of current position coordinates for the host and remote vehicles. The preferred system is configured to store trail coordinates, derive vehicular headings and trail polygons from the trail coordinates, and effect the directional multi-hop propagation of a message by comparing current position coordinates, trail coordinates, headings and/or trail polygons of the host and remote vehicles.
1. A vehicular communication system adapted for use with a traveling host vehicle and a traveling remote vehicle spaced from and communicatively coupled to the host vehicle, said system comprising:
at least one locator sub-system configured to determine current position coordinates for the host vehicle at multiple points along a trip,
said host vehicle including a controller communicatively coupled to the sub-system, and configured to store for at least a period the position coordinates, so as to build a history of host vehicle trail coordinates, and autonomously determine a host vehicle heading, based on the current position coordinates, and history of trail coordinates,
said host and remote vehicles being cooperatively configured to selectively transmit a message from the host vehicle to the remote vehicle based on the current position or trail coordinates of the host vehicle,
said host vehicle being configured to broadcast the message within a zone, wherein the zone is cooperatively defined by a predetermined radius not greater than the linear distance between the position coordinates of the furthest of said multiple points and the current position of the host vehicle
said at least one remote vehicle being configured to determine its current position coordinates, and receive the message only when its current position is within the zone.
2. The system as claimed in claim 1 ,
said locator sub-system being further configured to concurrently determine current position coordinates for said at least one remote vehicle, at multiple points along a remote vehicle trip, so as to build a history of remote vehicle trail coordinates,
said host and remote vehicles being cooperatively configured to selectively transmit a message from the host vehicle to the remote vehicle based on the current position or trail coordinates of the host and remote vehicles.
3. The system as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the radius is adjustable, as a function of traffic density, relative vehicle distances, and reception signal quality.
4. The system as claimed in claim 1 ,
at least a portion of the message including the trail coordinates and heading of the host vehicle.
5. The system as claimed in claim 4 ,
said host vehicle being further configured to determine a trail polygon based on the host vehicle trail coordinates,
said message including the host vehicle trail polygon,
said remote vehicle being further configured to determine its current position relative to the host vehicle trail polygon, and to accept the message only if its current position and the host vehicle trail polygon present an overlap.
6. The system as claimed in claim 1 ,
at least a portion of the message including the current position coordinates of the host vehicle.
7. The system as claimed in claim 6 ,
said remote vehicle being configured to determine and store its current position coordinates at multiple points along a trip, so as to build a history of remote vehicle trail coordinates,
said remote vehicle being further configured to determine a remote vehicle trail polygon based on the history of remote vehicle trail coordinates, and to accept the message only if the host vehicle current position coordinates and the remote vehicle trail polygon present an overlap.
8. The system as claimed in claim 7 ,
said message further including the host vehicle heading,
said remote vehicle being further configured to determine its heading based on its trail coordinates, and accept the message based on a comparison of the host and remote vehicle headings.
9. The system as claimed in claim 1 ,
said host vehicle including at least one sensory element configured to concurrently determine current position and trail coordinates for said at least one remote vehicle relative to the host vehicle, so as to determine a relative current position and heading for said at least one remote vehicle.
10. A vehicular communication system adapted for use with a traveling host vehicle and at least one traveling remote vehicle spaced from and communicatively coupled to the host vehicle, said system comprising:
at least one locator sub-system configured to determine current position coordinates for the host vehicle at multiple points along a trip,
said host vehicle including a controller communicatively coupled to the sub-system, and configured to store for at least a period the position coordinates, so as to build a history of host vehicle trail coordinates, and autonomously determine a host vehicle heading and construct a trail polygon, based on the current position coordinates, and history of trail coordinates,
said locator sub-system and remote vehicle being cooperatively configured to concurrently determine and store current position coordinates for said at least one remote vehicle, at multiple points along a remote vehicle trip, so as to build a history of remote vehicle trail coordinates, and to construct a remote vehicle trail polygon from the trail coordinates,
said host and remote vehicles being cooperatively configured to selectively transmit a message from the host vehicle to the remote vehicle based on the current position and trail polygons of either the host or remote vehicle,
said at least one remote vehicle being further configured to re-transmit the message to another remote traveling vehicle upon receipt of the message.
11. A method of selectively and autonomously communicating a message from a source to at least one traveling vehicle, said method comprising the steps of:
a. determining current position coordinates for the source;
b. determining and storing current position coordinates relative to the source, at multiple points along a trip, so as to build a history of trail coordinates, for said at least one traveling vehicle;
c. determining a current heading, based on the history of trail coordinates, relative to the source, for said at least one traveling vehicle; and
d. causing the message to be selectively transmitted from the source to said at least one traveling vehicle, based on the current heading and position coordinates of the traveling vehicle relative to the source, wherein causing the message to be selectively transmitted further includes broadcasting the message within a zone, determining whether the current position coordinates of said at least one traveling vehicle is within the zone, and encoding the message with the position coordinates of the source, and acceptance instructions, so that the message is propagated in one of a plurality of directions consisting essentially of rearward same-way traffic, forward same-way traffic, bi-directional same-way traffic, rearward opposite traffic, forward opposite traffic, and bi-directional opposite traffic.
12. The method as claimed in claim 11 ; and
e. causing a return receipt to be transmitted from said at least one traveling vehicle to the source, and terminating the transmission of the message by the source upon receipt of the receipt.
13. The method as claimed in claim 11 ,
steps (b), (c), and (d) further including the steps of determining current position coordinates at multiple points along a trip, so as to build a history of trail coordinates, and a heading based on the history of trail coordinates, for each of a plurality of traveling vehicles, and further causing the message to be retransmitted from said at least one traveling vehicle to other traveling vehicles.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13 ,
step (d) further including the steps of repetitively transmitting the message for a predetermined latency period.
15. The method as claimed in claim 13 ,
step (d) including the steps of prioritizing the dissemination of the message, wherein each of said at least one traveling vehicle waits a prioritization period inversely proportional to the distance between the source and said each of said at least one traveling vehicle, prior to re-transmitting the message, so that the furthest of said at least one traveling vehicle retransmits first.
16. The method as claimed in claim 13 ,
step (d) further including the steps of causing the message to be directionally propagated.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16 ,
step (d) further including the steps of modifying the message after the first transmission.