The Internet of Vehicles (IoVs)

Today's vehicles have become truly connected machines, not just extensions of mobile devices such as smartphones. This connectivity has given way to intelligent vehicle networks that are revolutionizing the landscape. 

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is a network of vehicles, equipped with sensors, software, and technologies that mediate between these, in order to connect and exchange data over the Internet according to agreed standards. 

The IoV is equipped with countless sensors, which in turn generate vast amounts of data. For example, these sensors are used to monitor security, environmental parameters and traffic.

- The ACES Future Mobility

The IoV is a distributed network that supports the use of data created by connected cars and vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). VANET is a mobile ad hoc network for communication between vehicles and roadside systems, and is expected to eventually evolve into the “Internet of Autonomous Vehicles”. 

The IoV is expected to be one of the enablers of autonomous, connected, electric and shared (ACES) future mobility. An important goal of the IoV is to allow vehicles to communicate in real time with their human drivers, pedestrians, other vehicles, roadside infrastructure and fleet management systems. 

- The Internet of Vehicles (IoV)

With the rapid development of automotive telematics, modern vehicles are expected to be interconnected through heterogeneous wireless access technologies and be able to exchange massive amounts of information with the surrounding environment. 

By significantly expanding the network scale and performing real-time and long-term information processing, the traditional in-vehicle ad hoc network is evolving to the IoV, which brings the prospect of high efficiency and intelligence to the future transportation system. On the other hand, cars are not only consuming, but also generating massive, massive types of data, which we call big data. 

Through the rational use of data, the IoV can not only provide drivers with the best driving route, but also realize emergency prevention and rapid response, thereby significantly improving driving safety and in-vehicle experience, which is regarded as the main contribution of the Internet of Vehicles to intelligence. Despite these advantages, the sustainability of IoV has many potential risks in terms of safety and performance, such as control failures and energy inefficiencies. 

In addition, due to the complexity of the transportation system, the connectivity of the IoV has become an issue of increasing concern. Research in IoV requires expertise in various fields, from ICT to energy and civil engineering.

Some of the benefits of connected cars are: optimize accident prevention, emergency call in the event of an accident, real-time traffic information, parking assistant and driving advice, carpool, etc.

Smart cities integrate innovative technologies and solutions to manage city assets, including transportation, electricity supply, and other critical infrastructure. The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is the latest technology designed for smart urban transportation. Through wireless communication and sensing technology, the Internet of Vehicles creates an information exchange network between vehicles, roadside infrastructure and the surrounding environment. Various data collected from in-vehicle devices reflect the current traffic situation (such as traffic accidents, traffic congestion, and public transport delays) in smart cities in real time.

Today, vehicles are increasingly being connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) which enable them to provide ubiquitous access to information to drivers and passengers while on the move. However, as the number of connected vehicles keeps increasing, new requirements (such as seamless, secure, robust, scalable information exchange among vehicles, humans, and roadside infrastructures) of vehicular networks are emerging. 

The IoV supports five types of network communication:

• Intra-Vehicle systems that monitor the vehicle's internal performance through On Board Units (OBUs). 
• Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) systems that support the wireless exchange of information about the speed and position of surrounding vehicles. 
• Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) systems that support the wireless exchange of information between a vehicle and supporting roadside units (RSUs).  
• Vehicle to Cloud (V2C) systems that allow the vehicle to access additional information from the internet through application program interfaces (APIs).  
• Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P) systems that support awareness for Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) such as pedestrians and cyclists. 
• When discussed in the context of 5G and intelligent transport systems (ITS), the five types of networks mentioned above are sometimes referred to as Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communication.

[More to come ...]