Information dissemination dynamics through Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication built upon traffic flow dynamics over roadway networks

This research is dedicated to developing a discrete mathematical simulation framework to track information dissemination dynamics via Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication factoring traffic flow dynamics, traffic intersection operation settings, and traffic intersection geometrical design over a road traffic network. Specifically, we develop information network flow models (INFMs), including IFNM-a and IFNM-r, respectively for tracking information wavefront spreading dynamics at arterial intersections and at highway-ramp intersections. Next, by integrating IFNMs with the information and traffic coupled cell transmission model (IT-CTM) model developed by Du et al. [16] for capturing the information front propagation dynamics on a road segment, we establish a discrete mathematical simulation framework (IFNM-CTM) to track the information front spreading dynamics over a road network at discrete time stamps. Furthermore, by combining the IFNM-CTM framework and the deep search algorithms, this study tracks the information coverage dynamics and investigates its correlation to traffic congestion evolution over a traffic network at discrete time stamps. Our experiments built upon Sioux Falls city network indicate that the IFNM-CTM is able to track the information front spreading, including location and coverage, accurately with the mean absolute error (MAE) less than 6% and 5%, respectively. More importantly, our studies found a strong correlation existing between information front spreading dynamics and traffic congestion evolution over the network. Specifically, a mild congestion condition (i.e., LOS C and D) provides the best traffic condition to sustain information spreading as compared to sparse (i.e., LOS A or B) and heavily congested (i.e., LOS E or F) traffic conditions since neither of them can sustain stable and constant wireless communication due to the limited transmission range of DSRC and interference issues.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This research develops a discrete mathematical simulation framework to track information dissemination dynamics via Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication in a road traffic network. It establishes information network flow models (INFMs) to track information wavefront spreading dynamics at intersections and on road segments. The experiments show that the framework accurately tracks the information front spreading and reveals a correlation between information spreading dynamics and traffic congestion evolution.