A Novel Architecture and Open Issues Towards Infrastructure-Less City-Wide Traffic Information Systems Using Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks

Traffic Information System(s) (TIS) has drawn a lot research attention in recent few years. Existing TIS proposals can be classified into two categories: infrastructure-less and infrastructure-based. Currently proposed infrastructure-less TIS cover only local scope; although the second type is likely to cover city-wide areas, it relies on expensive infrastructure-support. The design of an infrastructure-less city-wide TIS is rarely touched and seems full of challenge. In this paper, we first show that intersections are very useful for disseminating and maintaining traffic information. Afterwards, a novel architecture for Traffic Information Systems, named Intersection-based TIS (I-TIS), is proposed. Several improvement directions and open issues are presented. Challenges for I-TIS and its improvements are highlighted and the starting points for solutions are also suggested. We believe I-TIS can be a good starting point for building infrastructure-less city-wide traffic information systems.