Next-Generation Wireless Networking Architecture for Vehicular Communications

North Carolina is preparing for CAVs through multiple initiatives including an NCDOT-sponsored effort “NC Readiness for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAV)” and the Highly Automated Vehicle Committee appointed by the State Legislature. In providing a roadmap for safe deployment of CAVs on North Carolina roads, these initiatives highlight the need to consider modifications to roadway infrastructures. CAVs’ infrastructure needs can be broadly categorized either as improvements to existing traditional infrastructure or as emerging infrastructure needs. New infrastructure, including communications hardware to support Connected Vehicle (CV) applications, has been a recent focus of USDOT with three national pilot locations in Tampa, New York City, and statewide in Wyoming. In addition, NCDOT has joined the Signal Phase and Timing (SPaT) Challenge with a CV deployment on NC-55 in Cary.
This talk assesses the current NCDOT Programs that may be impacted by 1) the changes to the traditional infrastructure that are needed to safely deploy CAVs statewide, 2) expands on a low-latency edge computing architecture that can support CAV applications needing extensive computation or timely response, and 3) provides recommendations to NCDOT units and programs to increase statewide readiness for CAVs in both traditional and emerging infrastructure.