Bluetooth low energy for inter-vehicular communications

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is quickly and steadily gaining importance for a wide range of applications. In this paper we investigate the potential of BLE in a vehicular context. By means of experiments, we first evaluate the characteristics of the wireless channel, then we define a set of driving scenarios to analyze how BLE is affected by varying speed, distance and traffic conditions. We found that the maximum communication range between two devices can go beyond 100 meters and that a robust connection can be achieved up to a distance of 50 meters even for varying traffic and driving conditions. Next, we present a proof-of-concept mobile application for off-the-shelf smartphones that can be used to transmit data over multiple hops. Finally we discuss the advantages and limitations of BLE for Inter-Vehicular Communications (IVC) and propose potential applications.