Real-Time 3D Visualization for Distributed Simulations of VANets

Evaluation and validation of algorithms and protocols in vehicular area networks is challenging and requires the support of simulators in most cases due to the restrictions on cost and scalability. Consequently, there is a need to identify or build a simulator that best fits into the characteristics of VANets. Such simulators need to reproduce the communication of networks together with the mobility of vehicles in a given simulated area. Many simulators and simulation frameworks have been developed, most of them combining pre-existing mobility and networking simulators in one solution. However, these simulators present limited features on 3D visualization. In this paper, we propose a real-time, realistic 3D visualization for VANet simulations, which makes use of 3D-modeled real-world maps; the proposed system effectively generates the intended visualization. Experiments have been conducted to evaluate the performance on the synchronization between simulation and visualization components through an analysis of overhead and delays.