HEAVEN — A hybrid emulating architecture for vehicular networks

In vehicular communications, safety applications are the most challenging and they have become a main target in the research activity. Comprehensive testing and validation of such applications is very complex, but it is absolutely necessary if the applications are going to be widely used in vehicles all over the world. In this scope, simulation is an indispensable tool for leading the way to new test strategies. The integration of specific purpose simulators under a common platform is necessary in order to test complex network/system interactions, although simulators are not always developed sufficiently to reproduce the physical interactions that can take place in a vehicular environment. Thus, hybrid simulators can fill the gap when pieces of hardware have to be included inside of the simulation process. However, the transition from a fully simulated environment to a completely real one is still an unsolved problem. In this work, we present a set of key concepts for the design of a simulation platform that allows both the integration of other specific purpose simulators with real or emulated objects, and the seamless transition from a software to a hardware environment. The main characteristics of such a platform include final binary code execution, integration of simulated and real objects, realistic modeling of component interaction, ease of extension to new characteristics, and scalability. The approach is powerful and can easily be adapted to any simulation scheme.