Empirical Study of DSRC Performance Based on Safety Pilot Model Deployment Data

TL;DR

This study analyzes DSRC communication performance using large-scale deployment data, examining range and environmental effects to inform future infrastructure and simulation models.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale empirical analysis of DSRC performance in real-world conditions, highlighting environmental impacts on communication range.

Findings

Maximum and effective DSRC range quantified

Environmental factors significantly affect DSRC performance

Data supports improved deployment strategies

Abstract

Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) was designed to provide reliable wireless communication for intelligent transportation system applications. Sharing information among cars and between cars and the infrastructure, pedestrians, or "the cloud" has great potential to improve safety, mobility and fuel economy. DSRC is being considered by the US Department of Transportation to be required for ground vehicles. In the past, their performance has been assessed thoroughly in the labs and limited field testing, but not on a large fleet. In this paper, we present the analysis of DSRC performance using data from the world's largest connected vehicle test program - Safety Pilot Model Deployment lead by the University of Michigan. We first investigate their maximum and effective range, and then study the effect of environmental factors, such as trees/foliage, weather, buildings, vehicle travel direction, and road elevation. The results can be used to guide future DSRC equipment placement and installation, and can be used to develop DSRC communication models for numerical simulations.