The effects of wireless transmission range on path lifetime in vehicle-formed mobile ad hoc networks on highways

An information network built on top of vehicles using inter-vehicle communication (IVC) can be viewed as a type of mobile ad hoc network (MANET). The lifetime of the unicast routing paths existing in an IVC network can be affected by several factors such as vehicle moving speed, wireless radio transmission range, traffic density, etc. The paper uses more realistic vehicle mobility traces to study the effects of wireless transmission range on path lifetime in an IVC network. The results presented can help IVC researchers choose an appropriate wireless transmission range for IVC networks.