PBMP: priority-based multi-path packet routing for vehicular ad hoc network system in city environment

In vehicular ad hoc networks, efficient routing mechanisms are needed for data transmission to adapt to rapidly changing topology. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a priority-based multi-path packet routing strategy based on geographic routing. The goal is to achieve high delivery ratio and low end-to-end delay. By collecting real-time traffic flow information, we derive a connectivity probability function to select road intersections efficiently for transmission and to reduce the path's sensitivity to vehicle movements. In addition, the data loads are also referred to assist with intersection selections and avoid packet congestions. Furthermore, packets are classified with three priority levels for different transmission strategies. To enhance reliability, multiple paths are constructed to achieve high probability of robust receptions. Simulation results show that priority-based multi-path has significant performance improvement in comparison with other existing geographic routing protocols. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.