VSimRTI - Smart Mobility Simulation

The V2X Simulation Runtime Infrastructure (VSimRTI) is a comprehensive framework for the assessment of new solutions for Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems. Vehicle movements and sophisticated communication technologies like Vehicle-2-X communication and cellular networks can be modeled in detail. VSimRTI is one of the most flexible systems available in the automotive research arena to dynamically simulate Smart Mobility applications and to assess their impacts and benefits.

VSimRTI couples different simulators to allow the simulation of the various aspects of future Intelligent Transportation Systems. The easy integration and exchange of simulators enables the substitution of the most relevant simulators for a realistic presentation of vehicular traffic, emissions, wireless communication (cellular and ad-hoc), user behavior, and the modelling of mobility applications. Furthermore, VSimRTI is currently extended to allow the simulation of electric mobility scenarios.

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VSimRTI Features

Smart Mobility applications and Cooperative Transportation Systems help to enhance safety and traffic efficiency. However, the simulation of corresponding scenarios is a challenge because different simulation worlds come together here: e.g. vehicular traffic, wireless network communication, and application modeling. To solve this problem, VSimRTI couples different simulators and enables the simulation of the various aspects of future Intelligent Transportation Systems. Consequently, VSimRTI simulations allow the analysis of novel mobility solutions before real field tests start.

Different simulations aspects modeled by VSimRTI

The aim of the VSimRTI project is to make the preparation and execution of simulations as easy as possible for the users. Therefore, a comprehensive framework for simulator integration was created that facilitates the simulation of Smart Mobility scenarios. All simulator management tasks, such as synchronization, interaction and lifecycle management are handled completely by VSimRTI. Several optimization techniques, such as optimistic synchronization, enable high performance simulations. Special features, e.g. traffic lights, roadside stations, and CAM and DENM transmissions, are supported by VSimRTI. Moreover, various configuration, visualization and analysis tools assure maximum usability.

VSimRTI Concept

In contrast to existing fixed simulator couplings, the VSimRTI simulation infrastructure allows the easy integration and exchange of simulators. Thus, the high flexibility of VSimRTI enables the coupling of the most appropriate simulators for a realistic presentation of vehicular traffic, emissions, wireless communication (cellular and ad-hoc), user behavior, and the modelling of mobility applications. Depending on the specific requirements of a simulation scenario, the most relevant simulators can be used.

An example of a VSimRTI simulator coupling

VSimRTI uses an ambassador concept inspired by some fundamental concepts of the High Level Architecture (HLA). Thus, it is possible to couple arbitrary simulation systems with a remote control interface. Attaching an additional simulator only requires that the ambassador interface is implemented and, then, the specified commands are executed. For immediate use, a set of simulators is already coupled with VSimRTI, for example:

the traffic simulators SUMO and PHABMACS;
the communication simulators ns-3, OMNeT++, SNS, and VSimRTI_Cell;
the application simulator VSimRTI_AppNT;
several visualization and analysis tools.

The VSimRTI Application Simulator

The application simulator of VSimRTI is optimized for the simulation of Smart Mobility applications. Applications run in a sandbox which offers vehicle-like interfaces, e.g. for requesting sensor data or interacting with communication modules. Data provided by traffic, communication network and further connected simulators are transformed in a format used by components of real vehicles. To run an application, its logic is implemented in Java. Additionally, the VSimRTI application simulator supports various settings to specify the characteristics of an application and to configure its behavior.

Features of the VSimRTI Application Simulator

The architecture of the Application Simulator is based on the ETSI ITS Standard. Besides the sandboxed Application Layer approach, it features a rich Facility Layer with Application, Information and Communication Support. The individual aspects should be explained in the following:

Station Positioning: The realistic movement information from the traffic simulator is provided for the application of the EGO-vehicle. This information is already formatted in WGS-84 GPS coordinates to simulate real navigation system. Furthermore, Map and own Route Information are available.
Station Control: The Vehicle is able to sensor events, which can be simulated by the Environment Simulator. The Vehicle can moreover directly influence its driving maneuvers by slowing down, accelerating or changing the route to another road.
Message Management: From the V2X domain, several message types are supported. Most prominent is the periodical CAM-generation following specified rules (by ETSI standard, by User-timing, etc.). Event based DENMs are supported as well. Besides, further message types as SPAT (signal phases from intelligent traffic lights) are also included.
LDM-Management and LDM-Database: Currently the features of a dynamic knowledge base a.k.a. local dynamic map are implemented following the concepts of the LDM++. These concepts respect the information dynamics from static to highly dynamic without discretization loss due to the LDM layer structure from the SOTIS approach. Rules in the LDM-Management then control which information should be aggregated and which information should be used directly, according to the lifetime of the information.
Station type/ Capabilities: Simulated stations in VSimRTI can be specified with different capabilities. The configuration is part of the VSimRTI Mapping Component, which supports different kinds of vehicles and certainly also Roadside Units as well as intelligent Traffic Lights.
Addressing and GeoNetworking: VSimRTI Applications have the necessary APIs to control the according addressing mode. While the actual routing is implemented in the Communication Simulator, the Application Simulator supports different addressing schemes for ad-hoc communication (Unicast, Broadcast, Geocast) as well as for communication over the infrastructure-based cellular networks.

The VSimRTI Cellular Simulator

The VSimRTI cellular simulator enables the simulation of wireless transmissions via cellular networks. This simulator basically consists of two components: the GEO Server and the Cellular Network Simulation (CNS). In contrast to ad-hoc communication, cellular systems always require a deployed network infrastructure. The addressing between the nodes needs to be realized by IP. The GEO Server is a central server which is connected to the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). It has the task to maintain a table with all vehicles in the region. In this way, Geo addressing similar to geographic ad-hoc routing can be realized.

The architecture of the VSimRTI Cellular Simulator

The second component of the VSimRTI Cellular Simulator is the Cellular Network Simulation (CNS), which is the most important component for the simulation of the Radio Access Network (RAN) and its connection to the IP-based core network. The CNS subdivides the simulation area into various regions to modulate a network with different coverage properties. For each region, three nested models are used to simulate the packet transmission: the Core Delay Model, the PDR Model, and the Bandwidth Model.

The Core Delay model supports different basic delay types to simulate the transmission time for every packet statistically.
The PDR model is named after the Packet Delivery Ratio and models the effect of individual packet losses between the node and the base station due to inappropriate signal coverage.
The Bandwidth model considers the channel load of a region and calculates the final delay for the individual packets.

Further Components

Much attention is paid to comprehensive configuration possibilities to simulate realistic scenarios. In these terms, the Mapping Component plays an important role.

Mapping Component

The VSimRTI Mapping component is used to de?ne the specific type of simulated vehicles, RSUs and intelligent traffic lights. This means that one or multiple applications, different communication parameterization and behavioral aspects can be mapped to the dedicated nodes (vehicles, RSUs, traffic lights) in the scenario. Either one or a ratio of all nodes can be selected. Therefore, a deterministic mapping (producing the exact same sequence of mapped vehicles in every simulation run with regard to the given ratios at each point in time the simulation) and a stochastic mapping (resulting in a random order of mapped vehicles) exist. In this manner, the Mapping Component offers a convenient way to set up simulation series e.g. with the respect to market deployment rates where 5%, 10%, etc. of all vehicles and traffic participants are based on the V2X communication technology.

Evaluation of V2X Applications with VSimRTI

VSimRTI has been used by various automotive companies and research institutes to evaluate V2X applications. The following two examples are a small excerpt from the wide range of simulation scenarios that VSimRTI has performed thus far:

The goal of the intelligent V2X-based navigation system is to recommend travel routes which avoid congested areas. In contrast to classical traffic management systems, V2X technology operates in near real-time. That means it is able to avoid congested roads and those which are about to become congested. The VSimRTI simulations helped to optimize the effectiveness of the algorithm and to reduce the travel time and vehicle emissions.

Vehicles use the V2X-based navigation system to recalculate new optimized routes which avoid congested areas.

The V2X-based speed warning application aims to reduce accidents caused by bad weather conditions for example. Vehicles share information about dangerous road conditions such as ice roads or fog banks via V2X communication. This information helps to adapt speed, especially on road segments that are difficult to observe. To evaluate the application, an area with tight turns and often limited visibility in the Taunus Mountains was simulated. The VSimRTI results were used to improve the application and further reduce the number of speeding vehicles.

The V2X-based speed warning application allows vehicles to adapt their speed, especially on road segments which are difficult to observe.

VSimRTI Workshop

Each year, the VSimRTI Workshop is hold in Berlin. The workshop provides an insight of how to setup and run simulations as well as discussions of state of the art methods and tools for the assessment of novel solutions for Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems.

Publications

Books and Book Chapters

Robert Protzmann, Björn Schünemann, and Ilja Radusch. Simulation of Convergent Networks for Intelligent Transport Systems with VSimRTI. In Benoit Hilt, Marion Berbineau, Alexey Vinel, and Alain Pirovano, editors, Networking Simulation for Intelligent Transportation Systems: High Mobile Wireless Nodes, chapter 1, pages 1–28. John Wiley & Sons, 2017. ISBN: 978-1-119-40745-4
C. Sommer, J. Härri, F. Hrizi, B. Schünemann, F. Dressler: Simulation Tools and Techniques for Vehicular Communications and Applications. In C. Campolo and A. Molinaro and R. Scopigno, editors, Vehicular ad hoc Networks, pp.365-392, 2015, Springer International Publishing, ISBN: 978-3-319-15496-1

Journal Articles

R. Protzmann, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch: The Influences of Communication Models on the Simulated Effectiveness of V2X Applications. IEEE Communications Magazine, Volume 49, Issue 11, pp. 149-155, November 2011, ISSN: 0163-6804
K. Katsaros, R. Kernchen, M. Dianati, D. Rieck, C. Zinoviou: Application of vehicular communications for improving the efficiency of traffic in urban areas. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing, November 2011. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, ISSN: 1530-8677
B. Schuenemann: V2X Simulation Runtime Infrastructure VSimRTI: An Assessment Tool to Design Smart Traffic Management Systems. Computer Networks, Volume 55, Issue 14, pp. 3189-3198, October 2011. Elsevier North-Holland, Inc., New York, NY, USA, ISSN: 1389-1286
B. Schuenemann, J. W. Wedel, I. Radusch: V2X-Based Traffic Congestion Recognition and Avoidance. Tamkang Journal of Science and Engineering, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 63-70, March 2010. Tamkang University Press, Tamsui, Taiwan, R.O.C., ISSN: 1560-6686

Conference Proceedings

K. Hübner, T. Schilling, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch: On Assessing Road Safety Aspects of a Cycling Router Application. Proceedings of the 15th edition of International Conference on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) Telecommunications (ITST 2017), Warsaw, Poland, 2017, IEEE Xplore, ISBN: 978-1-5090-5274-5
K. Hübner, R. Cristea, S. Rulewitz, I. Radusch, B. Schünemann: Implementation of Cognitive Driver Models in Microscopic Traffic Simulations. Proceedings of the 9th EAI International Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTools '16), Prague, Czech Republic, pp.104-111, 2016, ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering), Brussels, Belgium, ISBN: 978-1-63190-120-1
K. Hübner, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch: Sophisticated Route Calculation Approaches for Microscopic Traffic Simulations. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTools '15), Athens, Greece, pp.147-154, 2015, ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering), Brussels, Belgium, ISBN: 978-1-63190-079-2
D. Rieck, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch: Advanced Traffic Light Information in OpenStreetMap for Traffic Simulations. Modeling Mobility with Open Data: 2nd SUMO Conference 2014 Berlin, Germany, pp.25-34, March 2015, M. Behrisch and M. Weber, Springer International Publishing, ISBN: 978-3-319-15023-9
R. Protzmann, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch: On site-specific propagation models for the evaluation of V2X applications. Communication Technologies for Vehicles (Nets4Cars-Fall), 2014 7th International Workshop on , pp.35-39, Oct 2014, ISBN: 978-1-4799-5270-0
Robert Protzmann, Kay Massow, and Ilja Radusch. An evaluation environment and methodology for automotive media streaming applications. In Innovative Mobile and Internet Services in Ubiquitous Computing (IMIS), 2014 Eighth International Conference on, pages 297–304. IEEE, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-4799-4331-9
R. Protzmann, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch: A Sensitive Metric for the Assessment of Vehicular Communication Applications. Advanced Information Networking and Applications (AINA), 2014 IEEE 28th International Conference on , pp.697-703, 13-16 May 2014, ISBN: 978-1-4799-3629-8
R. Protzmann, K. Massow, I. Radusch: On performance estimation of prefetching algorithms for streaming content in automotive environments. Wireless On-demand Network Systems and Services (WONS), 2014 11th Annual Conference on , pp.147, 2-4 April 2014, ISBN: 978-1-4799-4937-3
R. Protzmann, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch: Effects of Random Number Generators on V2X Communication Simulation. AsiaSim 2013, Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 402, pp. 200-211, 2013, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, ISBN: 978-3-642-45036-5
D. Chuang, B. Schünemann, D. Rieck, I. Radusch: GRIND: An Generic Interface for Coupling Power Grid Simulators with Traffic, Communication and Application Simulation Tools. SIMUL 2013, The Fifth International Conference on Advances in System Simulation, pp. 174-177, 27-31 October 2013, ISBN: 978-1-61208-308-7
R. Protzmann, K. Mahler, K. Oltmann, I. Radusch: Extending the V2X simulation environment VSimRTI with advanced communication models. ITS Telecommunications (ITST), 2012 12th International Conference on , pp.683,688, 5-8 Nov. 2012, ISBN: 978-1-4673-3071-8
B. Schünemann, D. Rieck, I. Radusch: Performance and scalability analyses of federation-based V2X simulation systems. Ad Hoc Networking Workshop (Med-Hoc-Net), 2012 The 11th Annual Mediterranean, pp.119-126, 19-22 June 2012, ISBN: 978-1-4673-2038-2
C. Zinoviou, K. Katsaros, R. Kernchen, M. Dianati: Performance evaluation of an Adaptive Route Change application using an integrated cooperative ITS simulation platform. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC), 2012 8th International, pp.377-382, 27-31 Aug. 2012, ISBN: 978-1-4577-1378-1
S. Lobach, I. Radusch: Integration of Communication Security into Advanced Simulation Environments for ITS. Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Fall), 2011 IEEE, San Francisco, CA, 5-8 Sept. 2011, ISSN: 1090-3038, Print ISBN: 978-1-4244-8328-0
K. Katsaros, R. Kernchen, M. Dianati, D. Rieck: Performance study of a Green Light Optimized Speed Advisory (GLOSA) application using an integrated cooperative ITS simulation platform. Wireless Communications and Mobile Computing Conference (IWCMC), 2011 7th International, pp.918-923, 4-8 July 2011, ISBN: 978-1-4244-9539-9
N. Bißmeyer, B. Schünemann, I. Radusch, C. Schmidt: Simulation of attacks and corresponding driver behavior in vehicular ad hoc networks with VSimRTI. In Proceedings of the 4th International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques (SIMUTools '11). ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering), ICST, Brussels, Belgium, Belgium, 162-167, ISBN: 978-1-936968-00-8
R. Protzmann, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch: The Influences of Communication Models on the Simulated Effectiveness of V2X Applications. Vehicular Networking Conference (VNC), 2010 IEEE, Jersey City, NJ, pp. 102 - 109, Dec. 2010, ISBN: 978-1-4244-9526-9
D. Rieck, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch, C. Meinel: Efficient Traffic Simulator Coupling in a Distributed V2X Simulation Environment. SIMUTools '10: Proceedings of the 3rd International ICST Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques, Torremolinos, Malaga, Spain, 2010. ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences, Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering), ICST, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 1-9, ISBN: 978-963-9799-87-5
T. Benz, B. Schuenemann, R. Kernchen, M. Killat, A. Richter: A Comprehensive Simulation Tool Set for Cooperative Systems. Advanced Microsystems for Automotive Applications 2010 : Smart Systems for Green Cars and Safe Mobility, pp. 411-422, May 2010, G. Meyer and J. Valldorf, Springer Berlin, Germany, ISBN: 978-3-642-12647-5
J. W. Wedel, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch: V2X-Based Traffic Congestion Recognition and Avoidance. Parallel Architectures, Algorithms, and Networks, International Symposium on, pp. 637-641, 2009 10th International Symposium on Pervasive Systems, Algorithms, and Networks, 2009. IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, CA, USA, ISBN: 978-0-7695-3908-9
N. Naumann, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch, C. Meinel: Improving V2X Simulation Performance with Optimistic Synchronization. Services Computing Conference, 2009. APSCC 2009. IEEE Asia-Pacific, pp. 52-57, Singapore, December, 2009. IEEE Xplore, ISBN: 978-1-4244-5338-2
N. Naumann, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch: VSimRTI - Simulation Runtime Infrastructure for V2X Communication Scenarios. Proceedings of the 16th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services (ITS Stockholm 2009), Stockholm, Sweden, September 2009
T. Queck, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch, C. Meinel: Realistic Simulation of V2X Communication Scenarios. Asia-Pacific Conference on Services Computing. 2006 IEEE, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. 1623-1627, 2008 IEEE Asia-Pacific Services Computing Conference, 2008. IEEE Computer Society, Los Alamitos, CA, USA, ISBN: 978-0-7695-3473-2
T. Queck, B. Schuenemann, I. Radusch: Runtime Infrastructure for Simulating Vehicle-2-X Communication Scenarios. In Proceedings of the Fifth ACM international Workshop on Vehicular inter-Networking, San Francisco, California, USA, September 15, 2008. VANET '08. ACM, pp. 78, New York, NY, USA, ISBN: 978-1-60558-191-0
B. Schuenemann, K. Massow, I. Radusch: A Novel Approach for Realistic Emulation of Vehicle-2-X Communication Applications. Vehicular Technology Conference, 2008. VTC Spring 2008. IEEE, pp. 2709-2713, Singapore, May 11-14, 2008, IEEE Press, New York, ISBN: 978-1-4244-1644-8
B. Schuenemann, K. Massow, I. Radusch: Realistic Simulation of Vehicular Communication and Vehicle-2-X Applications. In Proceedings of the 1st international Conference on Simulation Tools and Techniques For Communications, Networks and Systems & Workshops (Simutools '08), Marseille, France, March 03 - 07, 2008. ICST (Institute for Computer Sciences Social-Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering), ICST, Brussels, Belgium, pp. 1-9, ISBN: 978-963-9799-20-2

Technical Reports

C. Sommer, B. Scheuermann, T. Tielert, B. Schünemann: Proceedings of the 1st GI/ITG KuVS Fachgespräch Inter-Vehicle Communication (FG-IVC 2013). University of Innsbruck, Institute of Computer Science, Technical Report, CCS-2013-01, February 2013.

Related Theses

Dissertations

Björn Schünemann: The V2X Simulation Runtime Infrastructure: VSimRTI

Masters' Theses

Roland Cristea: Umsetzung eines emotional beeinflussten, kognitiven Fahrerverhaltensmodells in der Simulationsumgebung VSimRTI
Stefan Rulewitz: Evaluation von Fahrverhaltensmodellen und Modellierung von Störeffekten in Verkehrssimulationen
Michalis Adamidis: Kooperatives ADAS für V2X Simulationsumgebungen
Dennis Gerike: Verbesserung der Informationsverbreitung für Car-2-X-Fernbereichsanwendungen
Karl Hübner: Smart Calculation of Diversified Routes for Road Traffic Simulations
David Chuang: Embedding power system simulators into a simulation environment for ITS
Julian Peters: Modeling realistic driving behavior in V2X simulation scenarios
Benjamin Rust: Visuelle Fehler- und Performance-Analyse für VSimRTI
Marcel Busse: Dynamic adaption of communication models in Vehicle-2-X simulation environments
Alexander Scheck: A Map Matching Framework for Road Network Transformations
Michael Oppermann: Assessing the Impact of Obstacles in Vehicle-2-X Communication Simulations
Stefan Reichel: Embedding real OSGi based V2X applications in a simulation environment
Robert Protzmann: Accuracy of Communication Models and its Influences on V2X Application Simulations
Nico Naumann: Optimistic Synchronization in a Distributed V2X Simulation Infrastructure
David Rieck: Specialized Simulators in a Distributed Vehicle-2-X Simulation Environment
Jan Wedel: Analysis of V2X-Based Traffic Congestion Recognition
Tobias Queck: Runtime Infrastructure for Simulating Vehicle-2-X Communication Scenarios

Bachelors' Theses

Bernard Ladenthin: Konzeption und Entwicklung einer eventbasierenden Applikations-Schnittstelle für VSimRTI
Jiajun Hu: Improved V2X-based Congestion Avoidance