On the Design of Jamming-Aware Safety Applications in VANETs

Abstract

Connected vehicles communicate either with each other or with the fixed infrastructure using Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC). The communication is used by DSRC safety applications, such as forward collision warning, which are intended to reduce accidents. Since these safety applications operate in a critical infrastructure, reliability of the applications is essential. This research considers jamming as the source of a malicious act that could significantly affect reliability. Previous research has discussed jamming detection and prevention in the context of wireless networks in general, but little focus has been on Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANET), which have unique characteristics. Other research discussed jamming detection in VANET, however it is not aligned with current DSRC standards. We propose a new jamming-aware algorithm for DSRC safety application design for VANET that increases reliability using jamming detection and consequent fail-safe behavior, without any alteration of existing protocols and standards. The impact of deceptive jamming on data rates and the impact of the jammer's data rate were studied using actual field measurements. Finally, we show the operation of the jamming-aware algorithm using field data.