5-GHz Obstructed Vehicle-to-Vehicle Channel Characterization for Internet of Intelligent Vehicles

Powered by the Internet of Things, the vehicular ad-hoc networks are expected to evolve into the Internet of Intelligent Vehicles in which each vehicle can be much more efficient in various vehicular and transportation applications. In order to realize this vision, a seamless low-latency and ultrareliable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication network is required. Thus, it is of importance to characterize the V2V channels in various realistic environments, especially when the line-of-sight between transmitter (Tx) and receiver (Rx) is obstructed. In this paper, we characterize obstructed V2V channels in the 5-GHz band through measurement-calibrated ray-tracing (RT) simulations. To begin, the main objects in the real world are divided into two groups: 1) the small-scale structures (e.g., lampposts, traffic signs, etc.) and 2) the large-scale structures (such as buildings and ground). Then, we integrate the radar cross sections of the small-scale structures into our RT simulator through a framework based on high frequency prediction techniques. For the large-scale structures, we calibrate the electromagnetic and scattering parameters of the large-scale structures through V2V channel measurements. After such integration and calibration, extensive RT simulations for V2V channels with Tx and Rx located on vehicles traveling in the opposite or same direction are realized with various antenna deployments in urban and open space environments, with and without sloped terrain. Based on the RT results, we characterize the path loss, shadow fading, and delay spread of the channel for each case, and show agreement with measured results in the literature for all these channel characteristics.