How do VANETs (Vehicular AD Hoc Networks) work?

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How do VANETs (Vehicular AD Hoc Networks) work?

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Most VANET implementations are based on the same WiFi standards as your home wireless Internet is based on. But normally WiFi have a dedicated master in the form of an access point and several clients. However you can establish ad-hoc WiFi networks without any access points. This is what VANET uses. So the vehicles are able to connect to nearby vehicles over WiFi.

Currently the standards are in the research phase where the vehicle manufacturers are trying out various different techniques. They will have to come together and agree on a standard later on for how the messages between the vehicles should look like. You would need some sort of information about which car is which and where each car is. This can be hard in itself as GPS navigation is not accurate in urban areas, tunnels, parking garages, etc. So you would probably need some other form of data to help identify which vehicle is in front of you and which is behind you. When the vehicles have identified each other and know where each other is they can make sense of various status information about each other. A car might for example send messages about its current speed, how hard it is accelerating or braking, if it intends to turn, etc. This in formation can then be used by the other cars around it. For example the adaptive cruise control of the following car can be extremely precise as it knows exactly what the car in front is doing without any delay. If there is a queue then all the cars can move at exactly the same time and behave as one car. It is also theoretically possible to go through intersections in a faster way. Essentially if you know exactly where each car going across the intersection is and exactly how fast they are going you know exactly when it is safe to cross and you do not need to leave as much room as a human have to.