Mesh-tree topology for vehicular networks

Multimedia Information delivery in public transportation systems is gaining increasing prominence. This paper proposes mesh-tree architecture for low latency and high-throughput data transfer to mobile vehicles along approach roads in and around a bus station. Prior works have demonstrated 802.11b-based wireless chain topology for mobile vehicle connectivity along railroads. However, the chain topology is known to result in high hop counts and poor end-to-end latency. Furthermore, a break in any of the links would disconnect the remainder of the chain from the network. Hence, we propose mesh-tree architecture in order to overcome these drawbacks of the conventional chain topology. We discuss the architecture, antenna selection, deployment and performance results of a 14-node multi-hop 802.11a/g-based wireless test bed that mimics a large bus terminus. Our results clearly underscore the potential utility of mesh-tree architecture in achieving low latency and high-throughput data transfer leading to superior mobile vehicle connectivity.