Efficient data gathering and position dissemination protocols for heterogeneous vehicle ad hoc and sensor networks

Data gathering and localization algorithms for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANets) are envisioned as key technologies for the near future. These technologies will pave the way for a number of potential applications that required precise positioning information that GPS systems are not able to provide. However, high mobility of vehicles in a VANet introduces frequent topology changes that negatively affect existing solutions and poses significant challenges to developing effective localization and data gathering mechanisms. In this paper, we propose a new data gathering and localization dissemination protocol that uses an existing time-space synchronization technique to efficiently collect data from heterogeneous networks composed of wireless sensor nodes and vehicles in a VANet. Localization information is disseminated from vehicles to sensor nodes, which can compute their positions without the need of energy-hungry GPS modules. The focus of this paper is to provide a mechanism that is able to simultaneously collect data from the nodes, relay data to interested nodes, and to disseminate localization information that will aid the nodes to estimate their positions.