A network centric simulation environment for CALM-based cooperative vehicular systems

The concept of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) presents new R&D challenges in the transportation and ICT sectors and is currently receiving considerable interest from the research community. The primary objective of ITS is the creation of advanced road traffic systems for improved traffic safety, efficiency, and travelling comfort. Applications such as trip planning, automatic tolling and emergency warnings, among others, are envisaged in a system which can potentially reform modern transportation. Basic vehicle and roadside infrastructure collaboration allows an increase in efficiency and safety and acts as a foundation for an extensive application set to achieve these ITS goals. The use of software tools to simulate the behaviour of a network, and then analysing the effect of various parameters on the network performance, is a crucial task for these new technologies' application development and implementation. Currently, since neither infrastructure nor communications capabilities exist in vehicles beyond small scale prototypes, computer simulation is the only viable option in evaluation of potential ITS solutions. This paper presents CALMnet a comprehensive network-centric simulation environment for CALM-based cooperative vehicular systems. Using the OPNET modeler simulation tool, a number of elements necessary for accurate emulation of the complex cooperative vehicular network are identified and addressed. Important areas of consideration include vehicle mobility, communications channel behaviour, application design sets and RSU and OBU device modelling to accurately simulate the envisaged ITS concept.