How to Begin Implementing a Vehicular Sensor Network in NS3

To begin executing a Vehicular Sensor Network (VSN) project using NS3, we can replicate sensor-equipped vehicles which interact with each other (V2V) or with infrastructure (V2I) for transmitting sensory data. VSNs are frequently utilised within Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for applications such as traffic monitoring, collision avoidance, and environmental sensing. Here’s a structured approach to start implementing a VSN project:

Steps to Begin Implementing a VSN Projects in NS3

Step 1: Understand Vehicular Sensor Networks

What is a VSN?
- A network of vehicles is furnished by sensors, communication components, and processing units for identifying, sending, and processing the data.
Key Features:
- V2V Communication: Direct interaction among the vehicles.
- V2I Communication: Communication with roadside units (RSUs) or central servers.
- Sensing and Reporting: Vehicles are gather information like traffic flow, environmental data and transmit it.
Challenges:
- High mobility directing to often topology modifications.
- Restricted bandwidth and high latency.
- To sustain reliability within a dynamic environment.

Step 2: Install and Configure ns3

Download ns3:
- We should install and download the new version of ns3 on the system.
Enable Required Modules:
- Construct ns3 including essential components:

./waf configure –enable-modules=wifi,wave,mobility,internet

./waf build

Verify Installation:
- Execute a Wave or WiFi example for confirming installation:

./waf –run wave-simple

Step 3: Define the Project Scope

Scenario:
- Sensor data transmitting among the vehicles on a highway.
- Traffic observing with V2V and V2I communication.
- Cooperative collision avoidance.
Metrics:
- Throughput, latency, packet delivery ratio, and sensor data accuracy are performance parameters.

Step 4: Set Up Network Topology

Create Nodes:
- Describe the nodes with vehicles and roadside units:

NodeContainer vehicles, rsus;

vehicles.Create(10); // 10 vehicles

rsus.Create(2); // 2 roadside units

Set Up Mobility:
- Set up realistic vehicular movement:

MobilityHelper mobility;

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantVelocityMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(vehicles);

for (uint32_t i = 0; i < vehicles.GetN(); ++i) {

Ptr<ConstantVelocityMobilityModel> cvmm = vehicles.Get(i)->GetObject<ConstantVelocityMobilityModel>();

cvmm->SetPosition(Vector(i * 50.0, 0.0, 0.0)); // Initial position

cvmm->SetVelocity(Vector(20.0, 0.0, 0.0)); // Speed: 20 m/s

}

mobility.SetMobilityModel(“ns3::ConstantPositionMobilityModel”);

mobility.Install(rsus);

Step 5: Configure Communication

802.11p (WAVE) Communication:
- For V2X communication, we want to configure the WAVE devices:

YansWifiChannelHelper waveChannel = YansWifiChannelHelper::Default();

YansWavePhyHelper wavePhy = YansWavePhyHelper::Default();

wavePhy.SetChannel(waveChannel.Create());

QosWaveMacHelper waveMac = QosWaveMacHelper::Default();

WaveHelper waveHelper = WaveHelper::Default();

NetDeviceContainer vehicleDevices = waveHelper.Install(wavePhy, waveMac, vehicles);

NetDeviceContainer rsuDevices = waveHelper.Install(wavePhy, waveMac, rsus);

Install Network Stack:
- Integrate the Internet stack into nodes with vehicles and roadside units:

InternetStackHelper internet;

internet.Install(vehicles);

internet.Install(rsus);

Assign IP Addresses:
- Allocate an IP addresses to devices:

Ipv4AddressHelper ipv4;

ipv4.SetBase(“10.1.1.0”, “255.255.255.0”);

ipv4.Assign(vehicleDevices);

ipv4.Assign(rsuDevices);

Step 6: Add Sensor Data Applications

Broadcast Sensor Data:
- Transmit the sensor information to utilise WAVE applications:

ApplicationContainer broadcastApps;

WaveBsmHelper waveBsm;

waveBsm.Install(vehicleDevices, Seconds(1.0), Seconds(10.0), 50, “10.1.1.255”, 80);

Data Collection at RSUs:
- Set up RSUs for receiving sensor data:

PacketSinkHelper sinkHelper(“ns3::UdpSocketFactory”, InetSocketAddress(Ipv4Address::GetAny(), 80));

ApplicationContainer sinkApps = sinkHelper.Install(rsus);

sinkApps.Start(Seconds(0.0));

sinkApps.Stop(Seconds(10.0));

Custom Sensor Applications:
- Execute the custom logic by way of prolonging the Application.

Step 7: Enable Tracing and Monitoring

Enable Packet Tracing:
- Record PHY/MAC layer events to debug for packet tracing:

wavePhy.EnablePcap(“vsn”, vehicleDevices.Get(0));

Enable FlowMonitor:
- Observe the network performance using FlowMonitor:

FlowMonitorHelper flowMonitor;

Ptr<FlowMonitor> monitor = flowMonitor.InstallAll();

Step 8: Run the Simulation

Schedule Simulation:
- Describe simulation time and run the simulation:

Simulator::Stop(Seconds(10.0));

Simulator::Run();

Simulator::Destroy();

Analyze Results:
- Examine the performance outcomes to leverage trace files or FlowMonitor outputs.

Step 9: Example: Simple VSN Simulation

Below is a simple script of VSN simualtion:

#include “ns3/core-module.h”

#include “ns3/network-module.h”

#include “ns3/mobility-module.h”

#include “ns3/internet-module.h”

#include “ns3/wave-module.h”

#include “ns3/applications-module.h”

using namespace ns3;

int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {