HAPS-ITS: Enabling Future ITS Services in Trans-Continental Highways

TL;DR

This paper explores how high altitude platform stations (HAPS) can enable advanced intelligent transportation systems (ITS) for trans-continental highways, improving safety, mobility, and communication through a detailed case study of the Trans-Sahara highway.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of HAPS-ITS, highlighting its potential to support future transportation services on trans-continental highways with a detailed case study.

Findings

HAPS can provide reliable communication for trans-continental ITS.

HAPS-ITS supports traffic monitoring and accident reporting.

Case study demonstrates feasibility on Trans-Sahara highway.

Abstract

With the advent of rapid globalization and the inter-border supply chain network, the reliability and efficiency of transportation systems have become even more critical. Indeed, trans-continental highways need particular attention due to their important role in sustaining globalization. In this context, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) can actively enhance the safety, mobility, productivity, and comfort of trans-continental highways. However, ITS efficiency depends greatly on the roads where they are deployed, on the availability of power and connectivity, and on the integration of future connected and autonomous vehicles. To this end, high altitude platform station (HAPS) systems, due to their mobility, sustainability, payload capacity, and communication/caching/computing capabilities, are seen as a key enabler of future ITS services for trans-continental highways; this paradigm is referred to as HAPS-ITS. The latter is envisioned as an active component of ITS systems to support a plethora of transportation applications, such as traffic monitoring, accident reporting, and platooning. This paper discusses how HAPS systems can enable advanced ITS services for trans-continental highways, presenting the main requirements of HAPS-ITS and a detailed case study of the Trans-Sahara highway.