ENHANCED STABILITY OF CLUSTER-BASED LOCATION SERVICE

MECHANISM FOR URBAN VEHICULAR AD HOC

NETWORKS

MUHAMMAD AKRAM MUJAHID

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

 PSZ 19:16 (Pind. 1/13)
UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS / POSTGRADUATE PROJECT REPORT AND

COPYRIGHT
Author’s full name : MUHAMMAD AKRAM MUJAHID

Date of Birth : 01 SEPTEMBER 1973

Title : ENHANCED STABILITY OF CLUSTER-BASED LOCATION

SERVICE MECHANISM FOR URBAN VEHICULAR AD HOC
NETWORKS

Academic Session : 2020/2021 (II)

I declare that this thesis is classified as:

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PROF. TS. DR. KAMALRULNIZAM

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Date: 15 September 2021 Date: 15 September 2021

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Signature : ________________________________
Name of Supervisor : PROF. TS. DR. KAMALRULNIZAM BIN ABU BAKAR
Date : 15 SEPTEMBER 2021
BAHAGIAN A - Pengesahan Kerjasama*

Adalah disahkan bahawa projek penyelidikan tesis ini telah dilaksanakan melalui
kerjasama antara ________________________dengan ________________________
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* Jika penyediaan tesis atau projek melibatkan kerjasama.

BAHAGIAN B - Untuk Kegunaan Pejabat Sekolah Pengajian Siswazah

Tesis ini telah diperiksa dan diakui oleh:

Nama dan Alamat Pemeriksa Luar : Prof. Dr. Haji Mazani bin Haji Manaf
Fakulti Sains Komputer dan Matematik
Universiti Teknologi MARA
40450 Shah Alam, Selangor

Nama dan Alamat Pemeriksa Dalam : Prof. Dr. Shukor bin Abd. Razak
Sekolah Komputeran, Fakulti Kejuruteraan
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
81310 Johor Bahru, Johor

Nama Penyelia Lain (jika ada) :

Disahkan oleh Naib Pengerusi (Akademik & Pembangunan Pelajar), Sekolah

Komputeran:
Tandatangan : Tarikh :
Nama :
ENHANCED STABILITY OF CLUSTER-BASED LOCATION SERVICE
MECHANISM FOR URBAN VEHICULAR AD HOC
NETWORKS

MUHAMMAD AKRAM MUJAHID

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the

requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

School of Computing
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

SEPTEMBER 2021

i
 DECLARATION

I declare that this thesis entitled “Enhanced Stability of Cluster-based Location

Service Mechanism for Urban Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks” is the result of my own
research except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been accepted for any
degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other degree.

Signature : ....................................................
Name : MUHAMMAD AKRAM MUJAHID
Date : 15 SEPTEMBER 2021

iii
 DEDICATION

To my parents, brothers, sister, wife and my daughters Zarmeen Akram and

Mahroash Akram for their love, patience and understanding during my study.

iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to ALLAH almighty

the most affectionate and merciful, for HIS countless blessings upon me. I offer my
praises to the most compassionate and glorious personality, Hazrat MUHAMMAD
(Peace Be upon Him), who is a role model for the entire world.

I would like to express my immense gratefulness and appreciation to my

supervisor Prof. TS. Dr. Kamalrulnizam Bin Abu Bakar for his timely
contributions, meticulous supervision and guidance throughout my research journey.
It has been a great opportunity to learn a lot from him during the course of this work.
To keep my research work in a right direction, the credit of excellent reviews and
suggestions should go to my supervisor Prof. TS. Dr. Kamalrulnizam Bin Abu Bakar.

My heartiest thanks to my family members for their continuous support and

motivation which always lightened my way to success. Without their Duaa, love and
encouragement, I would never be able to finish this research. Also, I am indebted of
my seniors Dr. Tasneem S.J. Darwish and Dr Fatima Tul Zuhra for their continuous
support and guidance for the research work and every matter. I would like to thank and
acknowledge the support and help of my lab mates, friends and research group fellows.
I am grateful to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and all its staff for their support and
help.

v
 ABSTRACT

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are gaining tremendous research

interest in developing an Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for smart cities. The
position of vehicles plays a significant role in ITS applications and services such as
public emergency, vehicles tracking, resource discovery, traffic monitoring and
position-based routing. The location service is used to keep up-to-date records of
current positions of vehicles. A review of previous literatures, found various location-
based service mechanisms have been proposed to manage the position of vehicles. The
cluster-based location service mechanisms have achieved growing attention due to
their advantages such as scalability, reliability and reduced communication overhead.
However, the performance of the cluster-based location service mechanism depends
on the stability of the cluster, and the stability of the cluster depends on the stability of
the Cluster Head (CH), Cluster Member (CM) and cluster maintenance. In the existing
cluster-based location service schemes, the issue of CH instability arises due to the
non-optimal cluster formation range and unreliable communication link with Road
Side Unit (RSU). The non-optimal cluster formation range causes CH instability due
to lack of uniqueness of Centroid Vehicle (CV), uncertainty of participating vehicles
in the CH election process and unreliability of the Cluster Head Election Value
(CHEV). Also, the unreliable link with RSU does not guarantee that CH is stable with
respect to its CMs and RSU simultaneously. The issue of CM instability in the existing
cluster-based location service schemes occurs due to using instantaneous speed of the
CH and fixed CM affiliation threshold values. The instantaneous speed causes the CM
to switch the clusters frequently and fixed CM affiliation threshold values increase
isolated vehicles. The frequent switching of isolated vehicles augment the CM
instability. Moreover, the inefficient cluster maintenance due to non-optimal cluster
merging and cluster splitting also contributes to cluster instability. The merging
conditions such as fixed merging threshold time and uncertain movement of
overlapping CHs within merging threshold time cause the cluster instability.
Furthermore, the unnecessary clustering during cluster splitting around the intersection
due to CH election parameters also increases cluster instability. Therefore, to address
the aforementioned cluster instability issues, Enhanced Stability of Cluster-based
Location Service (ESCLS) mechanism was proposed for urban VANETs. The
proposed ESCLS mechanism consists of three complementary schemes which are
Reliable Cluster Head Election (RCHE), Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member
Affiliation (DCCMA) and Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM). Firstly, the aim of
the RCHE scheme was to enhance the stability of the CH through optimizing the
cluster formation range and by considering communication link reliability with the
RSU. Secondly, the DCCMA scheme focussed on improving the stability of the CMs
by considering the Cumulative Moving Average Speed (CMAS) of the CH and
dynamic CM affiliation threshold values, and finally, the OCM scheme enhanced the
cluster stability by improving cluster merging conditions and reducing unnecessary
clustering in cluster splitting. The results of the simulation verified the improved
performance of the ESCLS in terms of increasing the location query success rate by
34%, and decreasing the query response delay and localization error by 24% and 35%
respectively as compared to the existing cluster-based location service schemes such
as HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS. In conclusion, it is proven that ESCLS is a suitable
location service mechanism for a wide range of position-based applications of
VANETs that require timely and accurate vehicle locations.

vi
 ABSTRAK

Rangkaian Ad Hoc Kenderaan (VANET) memperoleh minat penyelidikan

yang luar biasa dalam membangunkan Sistem Pengangkutan Pintar (ITS) untuk bandar
pintar. Kedudukan kenderaan memainkan peranan penting dalam aplikasi dan
perkhidmatan ITS seperti kecemasan awam, pengesanan kenderaan, penemuan
sumber, pemantauan lalu lintas dan peralihan berdasarkan kedudukan. Perkhidmatan
lokasi digunakan untuk menyimpan rekod terkini kedudukan kenderaan semasa.
Tinjauan literatur mendapati pelbagai mekanisme perkhidmatan berdasarkan lokasi
telah dicadangkan untuk menguruskan kedudukan kenderaan. Mekanisme
perkhidmatan lokasi berasaskan kluster telah mendapat perhatian yang semakin
meningkat kerana kelebihannya seperti skalabiliti, kebolehpercayaan dan overhead
komunikasi yang berkurang. Walau bagaimanapun, prestasi mekanisme perkhidmatan
lokasi berasaskan kluster bergantung pada kestabilan kluster dan kestabilan kluster
bergantung pada kestabilan Cluster Head (CH), Cluster Member (CM) dan cluster
maintenance. Dalam skema perkhidmatan lokasi berasaskan kluster yang sedia ada,
masalah ketidakstabilan CH timbul kerana julat pembentukan kluster yang tidak
optimum dan hubungan komunikasi yang tidak dapat dipercayai dengan Road Side
Unit (RSU). Julat pembentukan kluster yang tidak optimum menyebabkan
ketidakstabilan CH kerana kekurangan keunikan Kenderaan Centroid (CV),
ketidakpastian kenderaan yang mengambil bahagian dalam proses pemilihan CH dan
ketidakpercayaan Nilai Pemilihan Kepala Kluster (CHEV). Juga, hubungan yang tidak
boleh dipercayai dengan RSU tidak menjamin bahawa CH stabil berbanding CM dan
RSUnya secara serentak. Masalah ketidakstabilan CM dalam skema perkhidmatan
lokasi berasaskan kluster yang ada berlaku kerana menggunakan kelajuan seketika CH
dan nilai ambang gabungan CM yang tetap. Kepantasan seketika menyebabkan CM
sering menukar kluster dan nilai ambang gabungan CM yang tetap meningkatkan
kenderaan terpencil. Kenderaan yang sering bertukar dan terpencil menambah
ketidakstabilan CM. Lebih-lebih lagi, penyelenggaraan kluster yang tidak cekap
kerana penggabungan kluster yang tidak optimum dan pemisahan kluster juga
menyumbang kepada ketidakstabilan kluster. Keadaan penggabungan seperti masa
penggabungan tetap dan pergerakan CH yang bertindih dalam masa ambang
penggabungan menyebabkan ketidakstabilan kluster. Selanjutnya, pengelompokan
yang tidak perlu semasa pemisahan kluster di sekitar persimpangan kerana parameter
pemilihan CH juga meningkatkan ketidakstabilan kluster. Oleh itu, untuk mengatasi
masalah ketidakstabilan kluster yang disebutkan di atas, mekanisme Enhanced
Stability of Cluster-based Location Service (ESCLS) dicadangkan untuk VANET
bandar. Mekanisme ESCLS yang dicadangkan terdiri daripada tiga skema pelengkap
iaitu Pemilihan Kepala Kluster yang Boleh Dipercayai (RCHE), Gabungan Anggota
Kluster Dinamis Kumulatif (DCCMA) dan Pemeliharaan Kluster yang Dioptimumkan
(OCM). Pertama, tujuan skema RCHE adalah untuk meningkatkan kestabilan CH
dengan mengoptimumkan rangkaian pembentukan kluster dan dengan
mempertimbangkan kebolehpercayaan hubungan komunikasi dengan RSU. Kedua,
skema DCCMA memfokuskan pada peningkatan kestabilan CM dengan
mempertimbangkan Nilai Purata Bergerak Kumulatif (CMAS) nilai CH dan ambang
gabungan CM dinamik, dan akhirnya, skema OCM meningkatkan kestabilan kluster
dengan memperbaiki keadaan penggabungan kluster dan mengurangkan
pengelompokan yang tidak perlu dalam pemisahan kluster. Hasil simulasi
mengesahkan peningkatan prestasi ESCLS dari segi peningkatan kadar kejayaan
pertanyaan lokasi sebanyak 34%, dan penurunan kelewatan tindak balas pertanyaan
dan kesalahan penyetempatan masing-masing sebanyak 24% dan 35% berbanding
dengan lokasi berdasarkan kluster yang ada skim perkhidmatan seperti HCBLS, CBLS
dan MoGLS. Sebagai kesimpulan, terbukti bahawa ESCLS adalah mekanisme
perkhidmatan lokasi yang sesuai untuk pelbagai aplikasi VANET berdasarkan
kedudukan yang memerlukan lokasi kenderaan tepat pada masanya.

vii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

DECLARATION iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
ABSTRACT vi
ABSTRAK vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
LIST OF TABLES xii
LIST OF FIGURES xiii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xvi
LIST OF SYMBOLS xx
LIST OF APPENDICES xxi

INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Overview 1
1.2 Problem Background 2
1.2.1 Cluster Head Instability 9
1.2.2 Cluster Member Instability 13
1.2.3 Cluster Maintenance Instability 16
1.3 Problem Statement 21
1.4 Research Questions 21
1.5 Research Aim 22
1.6 Research Objectives 23
1.7 Research Contribution 23
1.8 Research Scope 24
1.9 Significance of the Research 24
1.10 Thesis Organization 25

viii
 LITERATURE REVIEW 27
2.1 Introduction 27
2.2 VANETs 27
2.3 Location Service in VANETs 30
2.3.1 Non Cluster-based Location Service Schemes 30
2.3.2 Cluster-based Location Service Schemes 35
2.3.2.1 Static Cluster-based Location
Service Schemes 40
2.3.2.2 Dynamic Cluster-based Location
Service Schemes 45
2.4 Review of Existing CH Election Schemes 50
2.4.1 Cluster Formation Range-based CH Election
Schemes 50
2.4.2 Link Reliability-based CH Election Schemes 52
2.4.3 Remarks and Observation 59
2.5 Review of Existing Cluster Member Affiliation
Schemes 63
2.5.1 Link Lifetime-based CM Affiliation Schemes 63
2.5.2 Remarks and Observations 66
2.6 Review of Existing Cluster Maintenance Schemes 69
2.6.1 Cluster Merging Algorithms 69
2.6.2 Cluster Splitting Algorithms 73
2.6.3 Remarks and Observations 77
2.7 Findings of the Literature Review 79
2.8 Summary 82

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 83
3.1 Introduction 83
3.2 Operational Framework 83
3.3 Research Design and Procedure 85
3.3.1 Reliable Cluster Head Election Scheme 85
3.3.2 Dynamic Cumulative Custer Member
Affiliation Scheme 87
3.3.3 Optimized Cluster Maintenance Scheme 90

ix
3.4 Simulation Framework 92
3.5 Network Model and Simulation Setup 93
3.6 Performance Evaluation 95
3.7 Assumptions and Limitations 100
3.8 Summary 100

RELIABLE CLUSTER HEAD ELECTION

SCHEME 101
4.1 Introduction 101
4.2 Overview of the RCHE Scheme 101
4.3 Design of the RCHE Scheme 103
4.3.1 Centroid Vehicle Election Phase 103
4.3.2 Cluster Head Election Range Phase 105
4.3.3 Cluster Head Election Phase 106
4.3.3.1 Calculation of Variability Index 106
4.3.3.2 Calculation of RLT with RSU 107
4.3.3.3 Calculation of Number of
Neighbours (Nnbr) 110
4.3.3.4 Computation of the CHEV 110
4.4 Sensitivity Analysis of Weight Parameters 112
4.5 Performance Evaluation of the RCHE Scheme 114
4.6 Summary 122

DYNAMIC CUMULATIVE CLUSTER MEMBER

AFFILIATION SCHEME 123
5.1 Introduction 123
5.2 Overview of the DCCMA Scheme 123
5.3 Design of Proposed DCCMA Scheme 124
5.3.1 CH and RSU Sensing Phase 126
5.3.2 CM Eligibility Computation Phase 127
5.3.3 CM Affiliation Phase 129
5.4 Performance Evaluation of the DCCMA Scheme 132
5.4.1 Average CM Lifetime 133

x
 5.4.2 Fraction of Location Information Saved in the
Location Servers 135
5.4.3 Query Success Rate 138
5.5 Summary 140

OPTIMIZED CLUSTER MAINTENANCE

SCHEME 143
6.1 Introduction 143
6.2 Overview of the Proposed OCM Scheme 143
6.3 Design of the OCM Scheme 145
6.3.1 Design of Cluster Merging Algorithm 145
6.3.2 Design of the Cluster Splitting Algorithm 150
6.4 Performance Evaluation of the OCM Scheme 154
6.4.1 Query Success Rate 155
6.4.2 Average Query Response Delay 158
6.4.3 Average Localization Error 160
6.5 Summary 163

CONCLUSION 165
7.1 Overview 165
7.2 Research Achievements 165
7.2.1 Reliable Cluster Head Election (RCHE)
Scheme 166
7.2.2 Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member
Affiliation (DCCMA) Scheme 167
7.2.3 Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM)
Scheme 167
7.3 Limitations of the ESCLS Mechanism 169
7.4 Directions for Future Work 170

REFERENCES 173

APPENDIX A 187

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 193

xi
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

Table 2.1 Location Service Specific Characteristics 39

Table 2.2 Analysis of Location Service Schemes 48
Table 2.3 Analysis of Cluster-Based Location Service Schemes 49
Table 2.4 Analysis of the CH Schemes 61
Table 2.5 Analysis of the CM Affiliation Schemes 68
Table 2.6 Analysis of the Cluster Merging Schemes 72
Table 2.7 Analysis of the Cluster Splitting Schemes 78
Table 3.1 Overall Research Plan 88
Table 3.2 Performance Evaluation Parameters 95
Table 4.1 Comparison Of Existing Schemes and Proposed RCHE
Scheme 102
Table 5.1 Comparison Of Existing Schemes and Proposed DCCMA
Scheme 124
Table 6.1 Comparison Of Existing Schemes and Proposed OCM
Scheme 144

xii
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

Figure 1.1 Location Service Components 2

Figure 1.2 Location Service Scheme Categories 3
Figure 1.3 Clustering Based on Dynamic Clusters 6
Figure 1.4 Dependence of Cluster Stability 8
Figure 1.5 Static Cluster Head Election 9
Figure 1.6 Dynamic Cluster Head Election 10
Figure 1.7 Cluster Member Affiliation 14
Figure 1.8 Cluster Instability Around the Intersection 19
Figure 2.1 Structure of the Literature Review 28
Figure 2.2 VANETs V2V and V2I Communications 29
Figure 2.3 DSRC Channel Frequency Band 29
Figure 2.4 Location Updates in Flat Schemes 31
Figure 2.5 Quorum Formation 33
Figure 2.6 Static Clustering Based on Area Division 41
Figure 2.7 Static Clustering Based on Road Division 42
Figure 2.8 Clustering Based on the Lanes 51
Figure 2.9 Two layers Clustering 53
Figure 2.10 CH Election Based on the Centre 58
Figure 2.11 Cluster Splitting Around the Intersection 74
Figure 2.12 CH Election Around the Intersection 75
Figure 2.13 Lane Based CH Election 76
Figure 3.1 Operational Framework 84
Figure 3.2 Research Framework 86
Figure 3.3 Design, Implementation and Evaluation of RCHE Scheme 87
Figure 3.4 Design, Implementation and Evaluation of DCCMA
Scheme 89

xiii
Figure 3.5 Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Cluster
Maintenance Scheme 91
Figure 3.6 The Integration of SUMO and OMNET++ Via Veins 93
Figure 3.7 Part of the Doha Map used in the Simulation 94
Figure 4.1 Flow Chart of the Proposed RCHE Scheme 104
Figure 4.2 Centroid and Centroid Vehicle 105
Figure 4.3 CH Election Range 106
Figure 4.4 RSU Communication Range 109
Figure 4.5 Sensitivity Analysis of Weighting Factors 113
Figure 4.6 Average CH Lifetime at Different Maximum Speed 116
Figure 4.7 Average CH Lifetime at Different Maximum Density 117
Figure 4.8 Average Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Speed
118
Figure 4.9 Average Query Success Rate at Different Maximum
Density 119
Figure 4.10 Average Query Delay at Different Maximum Speed 120
Figure 4.11 Average Query Delay at Different Maximum Density 121
Figure 5.1 Flow Chart of DCCMA Scheme 125
Figure 5.2 Road ID and Direction of the Vehicles 127
Figure 5.3 Cumulative Moving Average Speed of the CH 128
Figure 5.4 Update Intervals from the IV to CH and CH to RSU 130
Figure 5.5 Average CM Lifetime at Different Maximum Speed 134
Figure 5.6 Average CM lifetime at Different Maximum Density 135
Figure 5.7 Information Saved in the Location Server at Different
Speed 137
Figure 5.8 Location Information Saved in Location Servers at
Different Density 138
Figure 5.9 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Speed 139
Figure 5.10 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Density 140
Figure 6.1 Flowchart of the Cluster Merging 146
Figure 6.2 Overlapping Range of Two Clusters 147

xiv
Figure 6.3 Flow Chart of the Splitting Algorithm 151
Figure 6.4 Cluster Splitting Around the Intersection 152
Figure 6.5 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Speed 156
Figure 6.6 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Density 157
Figure 6.7 Query Response Delay at Different Maximum Speed 159
Figure 6.8 Query Response Delay at Different Maximum Density 160
Figure 6.9 Localization Error at Different Maximum Speed 161
Figure 6.10 Localization Error at Different Maximum Density 163

xv
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ARV - Aggregate Relative Velocity

AQD - Average Query Delay
APA - Affinity Propagation Algorithm
BM - Beacon Message
CA - Collision Avoidance
CA - Certificate Authority
CH - Cluster Head
CBLS - Cluster Based Location Service
CD - Current Distance
CHEV - Cluster Head Election Value
CHER - Cluster Head Election Range
CHEAM - Cluster Head Electing in Advance Mechanism
CHLT - Cluster Head Link LifeTime
CHL - Cluster Head Lifetime
CHCR - Cluster Head Communication Range
CIP - Center Intersection Point
CMAS - Cumulative Moving Average Speed
CM - Cluster Member
CML - Cluster Member Lifetime
CAM - Channel Access Management
CV - Centroid Vehicle
CMATV - Cluster Member Affiliation Threshold Value
CMAV - Cluster Member Affiliation Value
CSL - Cluster Speed Limit
CSMA - Carrier Sense Multiple Access
CTV - Cluster Threshold Value
DV - Direction Vector
DCCMA - Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member Affiliation
DSRC - Dedicated Short Range Communications
ESCLS - Enhanced Stability of Cluster-based Location Service

xvi
ECB - Efficient Cost Based
ETSI - European Telecommunications Standards Institute
FLISLS - Fraction of Location Information Saved in Location Servers
GH - Group Head
GM - Group Member
GPS - Global Positioning System
GRPs - Geographical Routing Protocols
HCBLS - Hierarchical Cluster Based Location Service
IL - Intersection Leader
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ITS - Intelligent Transportation System
IV - Isolated Vehicle
IC - Intersection-based Clustering
I2V - Infrastructure to Vehicle
IVC - Inter Vehicular Communication
ID - Identity
IS - Intermediate Server
LBS - Location-based Services
LET - Link Expiration Time
LS - Location Service
LE - Localization Error
LOC - Location
LLT - Link LifeTime
LQ - Link Quality
LTE - Long Term Evolution
LRD - Left Relative Destination
MAC - Media Access Control
MATLAB - Matrix Laboratory
MALM - Mobility Assisted Location Management
MoGLS - Mobile Group based Location Service
MG-LSM - Mobile Group-based Location Service Management
MTT - Merging Threshold Time
NVC - Novel Vehicle Clustering

xvii
NS2 - Network Simulator 2
OBU - On Board Units
OCR - Owned Communication Rate
OSM - Open Street Map
OCM - Optimized Cluster Maintenance
OMNET++ - Objective Modular Network Testbed in C++
PDR - Packet Delivery Ratio
PD - Previous Distance
QoS - Quality of Service
QBLS - Quorum Based Location Service
QLSP - Quorum Based Location Service Protocol
QSR - Query Success Rate
QLS - Quorum-based Location Service
QRD - Query Response Delay
R - Range
RD - Relative Destination
RH - Regional Head
RL - Responsible Leaders
RS - Responsible Servers
RSU - Road Side Unit
RLQ - RSU Link Quality
RVM - Relative Velocity Metric
RLT - RSU Link LifeTime
RRD - Right Relative Destination
RCHE - Reliable Cluster Head Election Scheme
RTS/CTS - RTS/CTS - Request-to-send and Clear-to-send
RWCP - Reputation-based Weighted Clustering Protocol
PLM - Power Loss Metric
SCHR - Service Channel Range
SFLS - Semi-Flooding Location Service
SDN - Software Defined Network
SRD - Straight Relative Destination
SUMO - Simulation of Urban Mobility

xviii
SNR - Signal to Noise Ratio
SV - Source Vehicle
TCP - Transmission Control Protocol
TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access
TDFLS - Totally Distributed Flat Location Service
UN - Undecided Node
UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
VANETs - Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks
V2V - Vehicle to Vehicle Communication
VI - Variability Index
V2I - Vehicle to Infrastructure
V2V - Vehicle to Vehicle
WAVE - Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments
VEINS - Vehicles In Network Simulation
ZGLS - ZoomOut Geographic Location Service

xix
 LIST OF SYMBOLS

α - Alpha
Ωi - Aggregate relative velocity
β - Beta
∈ - Belongs to
𝛥𝑆𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑠ℎ - CM affiliation threshold value
±Vth - CM affiliation threshold value
𝑀(𝑖) - Capability metric
𝑡𝑖𝑏 - Cluster head election time
𝑡𝑖𝑚 - Cluster headship loosing time
𝑡𝑖𝐽 - Cluster joining time

𝑡𝑖𝐿 - Cluster leaving time

Cseg - Centroid of the segment
𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆𝑛 - Cumulative Moving Average Speed of n vehicles
Tresh - Cluster member affiliation threshold value
𝑑̂ (𝑛𝑖 ) - Direction angle of the node i
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐶𝐻 - Directional vector of the CH
⩝ - For all
γ - Gamma
ΔSmax - Maximum speed difference
ɸv - QoS metric

𝛿𝑖 - Number of neighbors
⋀v - Mobility Metric

𝑅𝐷(𝑣𝑗 ) - Relative direction of the vehicle 𝑣𝑗

𝛱 - Suitability value
Ʋ - Speed adjustment factor
Sign (ΔSij ) - Sign function
Wi - Weight factors

xx
 LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX TITLE PAGE

A Sample Results 187

xxi
 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Overview

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) are emerging as integral part of

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) applications and services. The ITS utilizes the
information technology and communication networks to provide the better quality,
mobility, comfort and safety in smart cities. VANETs are used on a large scale in ITS
applications which includes the different types of value added services like automation
of toll payment, navigation, vehicle safety, traffic management, infotainment services
and location-based services (Ghazi, Khattak, Shabir, Malik, & Ramzan, 2020;
Sanguesa et al., 2016; Darwish and Bakar, 2015).

In fact, VANETs provide various services such as finding the closest parking
slot, gas station or restaurants and discovering the position of any other vehicle
including emergency vehicles, patrolling police vehicles and resource discovery
vehicles. These services mainly depend on the accuracy and reliability of the location
service (Al-Mayouf et al., 2016; Schoch, Kargl, Weber, & Leinmuller, 2008).

Moreover, Geographic Routing Protocols (GRPs) depend on the current

location of vehicles to forward the messages. Every vehicle is equipped with a Global
Positioning System (GPS). Vehicles get their position through a GPS and use a
location service to get the position of other vehicles. These positions are maintained
by a location service (Bilal and Ali, 2017; Liu et al., 2016).

Location service is one of the essential applications in VANETs to provide the

location of vehicles. However, locating vehicles’ positions and maintaining an
accurate view of the entire network are quite challenging tasks due to the high number
of vehicles, and high and fast nodes mobility which results in rapid topological changes

1
and sudden network disconnections. The development of a reliable, scalable, and
stable location service is a big challenge in VANETs (Woo and Lee, 2018;
Balouchzahi, Fathy, & Akbari, 2016).

1.2 Problem Background

Location service is utilized to store the current locations of vehicles in

VANETs. Each vehicle depends on a location service to locate the up-to-date position
of another vehicle. All vehicles get their positions through the Global Positioning
System (GPS) and send them to the existing nearby location server. Location service
is also responsible for collecting the periodic location updates and responding to
location queries about the current position of the vehicles ( Lu, Lin, Liang, & Shen,
2011; Brahmi, Boussedjra, Mouzna, Cornelio, & Manohara, 2010).

Location service mechanism depends on three basic components such as

location server, location update and location query as shown in Figure 1.1. In the
existing cluster-based location service literature, collection of schemes is named as
mechanism. The location servers maintain the location information of vehicles. These
location servers may be in the form of a vehicle, RSU or any fixed regional server. In
the location update, every vehicle sends its location periodically to the nearest location
server. In the location query, every vehicle that needs the location of another vehicle
sends a request to its respective location server. If the location server has the location
information of requested vehicle, it will respond back with the location information.
Otherwise, it will carry out the query by forwarding this request to a higher-level server
(Boussedjra, Mouzna, Bangera, & Pai, 2009).

Figure 1.1 Location Service Components

2
 To perform different location service functions such as location updates and
location queries, several schemes have been proposed in VANETs. Location service
schemes are divided into various categories based on different characteristics. These
location service schemes are classified into two main classes such as flooding-based
and rendezvous-based schemes (Ayaida, Fouchal, Afilal, & Ghamri, 2012). The
Rendezvous-based schemes are further divided into Quorum-based and cluster-based.
Moreover, cluster-based location service schemes are categorized into static cluster-
based location service and dynamic cluster-based location service. The different
categories of the existing location service schemes are given in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.2 Location Service Scheme Categories

In the flooding-based location service schemes, each vehicle periodically

broadcasts its location to update the location table of other vehicles in VANETs. These
schemes depend on the flooding approach for the location update and query
(Mühlethaler, Renault, & Boumerdassi, 2020; Boumerdassi and Renault, 2016). The

3
location updates and queries are simple in these schemes. However, the flooding
schemes are inefficient and not suitable for large scale networks which creates
scalability and network management problems. The flooding schemes suffer from the
high network congestion and low throughput (Balouchzahi et al., 2016; Garg, Pandey,
& Singh, 2014).

meet at an agreed time

However, rendezvous-based location service schemes designate specific
vehicles based on predefined criteria to work as location servers. These location
servers are distributed over the whole network. Every vehicle updates its position to a
location server that lies within its range. Rendezvous-based location service schemes
are further divided into two categories such as quorum-based and cluster-based
location service (Ayaida, Barhoumi, Fouchal, Ghami, & Afilal, 2014).

The quorum-based schemes are proposed to overcome the limitations of the

flooding-based schemes. The quorum-based schemes depend on the intersection point
between a location query quorum and a location update quorum to provide the location
of a vehicle. The quorum-based location service schemes make two groups of vehicles:
an update quorum and a search quorum. The location of a vehicle is updated along the
update quorum while a query for vehicle’s location is sent along the search quorum
until it reaches at a vehicle which is the intersection of both update and search quorum.
In the quorum-based schemes, the location updates and location queries are simple but
have limitations during quorum construction phase. As a result, quorum-based location
service schemes have quorum boundary issues and high quorum construction
overheads which results in high network overheads. Quorum-based schemes are not
effective for VANETs due to their complexity in forming and maintaining quorums
due to constraints like roads layout and void areas (Ashok, Pai, & Mouzna, 2011).

The aforementioned non-cluster based location service schemes in VANETs

generate a large number of messages through broadcast or partial broadcast. Thus, the
crowded
schemes based on broadcast approach cause congestion because all the recipients re-
broadcast the message and vehicles receive multiple copies of same messages. The
collision and loss of location updates and queries increase which affects the
performance of the location service. To overcome these issues, clustering approach

4
has been proposed to limit the communication of vehicles within the location servers.
Cluster-based location service is more efficient because aggregated messages are sent
to the location servers.

In clustering, vehicles are grouped together to formulate a cluster based on

certain rules. There exists at least one Cluster Head (CH) in every cluster which is
designated as a moving local location server. The other vehicles in the cluster are
named as Cluster Members (CMs) (Shah, Malik, Rahman, Iqbal, & Khan, 2019;
Cooper, Franklin, Ros, Safaei, & Abolhasan, 2016). The cluster-based location service
schemes work in multiple levels, specifically two or three levels, to manage the
location of vehicles. Cluster-based location service is also called as hierarchical-based
location service. It collects and keeps the locations of its CMs (Huo et al., 2016; Fan,
Haran, Dillenburg, & Nelson, 2005). The cluster-based location service schemes are
further divided into two categories such as static cluster-based location service and
dynamic cluster-based location service.

The static cluster-based location service depends on the static clusters. In the
static clustering, the location of the cluster is predefined through dividing the area into
fixed segments. The group of vehicles in a segment forms the cluster. In some cases,
Road Side Unit (RSU) is also used to form static clusters. In each segment, the vehicle
that is nearest to the center of the segment is elected as a CH. The other vehicles join
the cluster as CMs. Every vehicle in a cluster sends its location to the CH. CH sends
the locations to RSU that acts as a higher-level location server. Static clustering has
some advantages such as simple cluster formation and low signaling cost during CH
election (Singh and Kaur, 2015). However, the CH election depends on fixed locations.
Location servers are elected without considering mobility parameters. When these
location servers leave their respective areas, new location servers are defined. Due to
this, location server election process occurs frequently that affects the performance of
the location service. The CHs depend on intermediate servers to update the locations
to higher level server. Likewise, frequent handover occurs when location server moves
between different areas. Due to the abovementioned issues, CH and CM change
frequently. Consequently, the CH and CM instability increases, which affects the
performance of the location service.

5
 The dynamic cluster-based location service relies on dynamic clustering. The
dynamic clustering is also termed as mobile clustering. It depends on the mobility
parameters such as speed and position to make the clusters. In the static clustering,
clusters are defined by dividing the road into fixed segments as shown in Figure 1.5.
A separate CH is elected for each segment. The lifetime of CH is limited to segment.
The CHs and CMs switch between different clusters. Whereas in dynamic clustering,
the clusters are not bounded to the fixed partition of the road as shown in Figure 1.4
and in Figure 1.6, CHs and CMs move with clusters. The main advantage of dynamic
clustering is the reduction of reclustering by moving the cluster with the vehicles
(Abdel-Halim, Fahmy, & Bahaa, 2019; Dhugga, Sharma, & Sharma, 2015; Singh and
Kaur, 2015). In dynamic cluster-based location service, vehicles having similar
mobility characteristics form one cluster and move within clusters as shown in Figure
1.3.

Based on the aforementioned discussion, it is obvious that the cluster-based

location service schemes have more advantages in terms of scalability, reliability,
communication overhead as compared to the non-cluster based location service
schemes. Furthermore, the dynamic clustering is more flexible as compared to static
clustering (Woo and Lee, 2018; Asoudeh, Mehrjoo, Balouchzahi, & Bejarzahi, 2017).

Figure 1.3 Clustering Based on Dynamic Clusters

The performance of the cluster-based location service depends on the stability

of the cluster. The stability of the cluster relies on the CH, CM, cluster maintenance

6
clustering parameters, communication overhead and isolated vehicles as mentioned in
Figure 1.4 (Bi et al., 2020; Woo and Lee, 2018).

In the clustering approach, one vehicle is elected as a CH, other vehicles join
the cluster as CMs. The CH not only performs cluster management functions such as
communication with its CMs, inter-cluster communication, information exchange with
RSUs, also performs other functions in the cluster-based location service such as to
keep and update the location information of its CMs to higher-level location servers.
The CH responds to different queries about the location of other vehicles in the
network. The unavailability of the CH due to any reason breaks the cluster. All the
communication between CH and other vehicles disrupted, hence the performance of
the working application halted. The stability of the CH is the basic requirement to
maintain the stability of the cluster.

In the cluster-based location service, the CM is the vehicle whose position is

maintained in the location servers. The frequent switching of the CMs between
different clusters affects the location updates and location queries. The stability of the
CM is another key component for the cluster-based location service.

After electing CH and affiliating CMs, the cluster maintenance is another

important component to maintain the stability of the cluster. During cluster
maintenance, different events such as CM leaving, joining, cluster overlapping, and
cluster merging are maintained to enhance the cluster stability.

The stability of the cluster depends on the parameters used to elect CH, CM
and cluster maintenance. Some of the important parameters are speed, distance,
direction, number of neighbours, link lifetime, destination, signal-to-noise ratio, fixed
size road segments, road id and density. Due to rapid topological changes in VANETs,
speed is considered as a most important parameter while forming the clusters. The
combination of various parameters is used to increase the cluster stability, while
keeping the requirements of different applications.

7
 Communication overhead is another important parameter that impacts the
stability of a cluster. With the increase of the communication messages, the network
overhead increases which causes the delay and collision of messages. The
communication links between CH and CM breaks, which ultimately affects the
stability of the cluster.

The isolated vehicles are not part of any cluster. These vehicles send CM
affiliation messages continuously to become the member of the clusters. With the
increase of isolated vehicles, the number of CM affiliation messages increases, which
creates extra communication overhead in the network. The communication between
CH and CM is disrupted which reduces the lifetime of the CH and CM.

Figure 1.4 Dependence of Cluster Stability

Although the cluster-based location service schemes improve the performance

of the location service by optimizing location updates and location queries, but
limitations still exist due to frequent CH and CM changes which is discussed in the
following subsections.

8
1.2.1 Cluster Head Instability

The CH is the core component of the cluster-based location service. The CH

collects the location information of its members and updates these locations to a
higher-level server along with responding and forwarding location queries. The CH
does not only perform the location service functions but also execute the cluster
management functions. The performance of the location service mainly depends on
the stability of the CH.

In the static cluster-based location service, the road is divided into segments.
The vehicle nearest to the center of the segment at any instant is elected as a CH as
shown in Figure 1.5 (Aissaoui et al., 2015). This approach simplifies the CH election
and reduce the management functions by defining the CH election range. However,
the election of the CH is bounded to the fixed point without considering the speed
parameter. Furthermore, the CH is elected without including the link reliability with
the RSU. Also, due to the fixed size road segments, communication range of
neighbouring CHs overlaps each other. The CMs of these segments receive CM
requests from the multiple CHs. The location information of these CMs is not updated
due to the collision of the messages. Due to the frequent change of CHs, non-optimum
cluster formation range and unreliable link with the RSU, the CH instability increases.

Figure 1.5 Static Cluster Head Election

A Cluster Based Location Service (CBLS) scheme proposed by Asoudeh et al.

(2017) depends on the dynamic clustering to provide the location of a vehicle. Every
vehicle broadcasts its Cluster Head Election Value (CHEV) that depends on speed,
distance and number of directly connected vehicles to its neighboring vehicles. Each
vehicle compares the CHEV with its own value. If a neighbour has better CHEV, the

9
vehicle will broadcast the information of that vehicle. Same procedure is performed
by all the vehicles, until, a vehicle which has optimum CHEV is elected as a CH as
shown in Figure 1.6. To control flooding, messages have delay more than threshold
value are discarded.

Figure 1.6 Dynamic Cluster Head Election

Although CBLS scheme tries to reduce the CH instability by using dynamic

clustering and considering mobility parameters, CH instability still exists due to
undefined cluster formation range. The reason is that every vehicle broadcasts its
information to its neighboring vehicles, and in turn, each neighbor vehicle sends that
information to its neighboring vehicles. Also, CHEV does not confirm a vehicle that
is elected as CH with stable speed and least distance from all other vehicles. According
to this scheme, a vehicle which has either highest speed or lowest speed or highest
distance difference or lowest difference is elected as CH. Moreover, during CH
election, the reliability of link between CH and higher level server is overlooked.

The Mobile Group-based Location Service (MoGLS) scheme proposed by

Woo and Lee (2018), focusses on Cluster Member (CM) affiliation, however, as a
part of his scheme, a CM that does not receive Beacon Messages (BM) from its CH
within a certain time, elects itself as a CH and sends membership advertisement
messages over the network. It means the CM that does not receive messages from the
CH due to congestion or contention or collision of messages, advertises itself as a CH
without considering its mobility, cluster formation range and link reliability with the
RSU which leads to an unstable CH election.

10
 The aforementioned location service schemes utilize the clustering approach
to improve the performance of the location service by electing a stable vehicle as a
CH. However, CH instability still exists due to non-optimum cluster formation range
and due to unreliable link of the CH with the higher-level location server. The
following studies based on general clustering (in which clusters are formed without
the requirements of any specific application) tried to address aforementioned issues.

Arkian, Atani, Pourkhalili, and Kamali (2015) depend on the static and
dynamic CHs to enhance the cluster stability. Every RSU is working as a static CH.
The dynamic CH is elected from vehicles on the basis of distance, speed,
neighbourhood degree and RSU Link Quality (RLQ). The proposed scheme improves
the cluster stability by using mobility and Quality of Service (QoS) metrics. The link
reliability with the RSU is considered while electing the CH. The leading vehicle starts
the process of the clustering. The mobility and RLQ metrics are computed
independently without synchronizing each other. This factor does not ensure that a
vehicle that is most stable with its neighbours also has a reliable link with the RSU.
Similarly, it does not guarantee that a vehicle having a reliable link with the RSU is
also most stable with its neighbours.

The Base Station (BS) collects the information about the number of vehicles in
the network and divides the area into different partitions based on the density of
vehicles and number of required clusters (Qureshi, Abdullah, Bashir, Iqbal, and Awan,
2018). The BS defines the centroid of each partition. The CH for each partition is
elected on the basis of signal strength and direction of other vehicles and distance from
the centroid. The partition is based only on density without considering the length of
the road. There may be very high density in a small area which leads to the increase in
number of clusters. Due to the neighbouring clusters, the overlapping area increases.
Besides this, speed of the vehicles and reliable link with the BS are ignored while
electing the CH. Due to static approach, the number of clusters and CH instability
increases.

Pal, Gupta, Prakash, and Tripathi (2018) define the centroid of cluster on the
basis of the current position of vehicles. The CH is elected from the vehicles in the

11
range of the centroid by considering the speed and distance from the centroid. The
uniqueness of the centroid is affected due to different number of vehicles in the
neighbor table of each vehicle, which does not ensure a reliable cluster formation
range. Also, CH is elected without considering the reliability with the RSU.

In the light of earlier mentioned related works, it is observed that the cluster-
based location service schemes are more focused on improving the location service
functions such as location updates and location queries schemes instead of reducing
the cluster instability. Existing CH election schemes which include HCBLS, CBLS
and MoGLS increase the CH instability due to non-optimum cluster formation range
and unreliable link with the RSU. In the aforementioned studies, a Centroid Vehicle
(CV) is defined before the cluster formation range. CV is elected from the vehicles on
the basis of neighbour table. Each vehicle has a different table which compromise the
uniqueness of the CV, which ultimately affects the number of vehicles in range. In the
HCBLS scheme, clusters are defined based on the road partitions. Each CH sends and
receives messages up to 400m on both sides of it. Due to overlapping range, expected
CHs receive multiple messages from neighboring vehicles. Collision of messages take
place which affects the location updates and location queries. In CBLS and MoGLS,
CH is elected without defining a specific range. The messages beyond a certain delay
are discarded. The communication overhead increases during CH election. The
collision of messages increases. The overlapping range and undefined range leads to
non-optimum cluster formation range. These issues calculate unreliable Cluster Head
Election Value (CHEV) which result in unstable CH election. Consequently, these
issues increase the CH instability. The location updates and location queries suffer due
to the CH instability which is acting as a lower-level location server. The performance
of the location service degrades in terms of the query success rate, query response
delay and localization error. Therefore, a reliable CH election scheme should be
incorporated in VANETs that addresses the aforementioned issues effectively.

12
1.2.2 Cluster Member Instability

The key responsibility of the cluster-based location service is to provide the

location of CMs through CH that is acting as lower-level location server. Location
service performance depends on the less frequent change of CM affiliations in the
cluster. The following section critically analyze the existing CM affiliation schemes.

In the static cluster-based location service scheme, the collection of the

vehicles in each segment defines the cluster (Aissaoui et al., 2015). One vehicle that is
nearest to the center of the segment is elected as a CH and other vehicles in the segment
affiliate with the CH as CMs. The CH collects the location information of these CMs
and sends that information to a higher-level location server. The CM affiliation in the
static cluster-based location service is simple and does not require any exchange of
messages to affiliate with the CH. However, the vehicles are affiliated with a new CH
in each segment. The location updates from the CH to a higher-level server are
affected. The vehicles join and leave the clusters frequently. In addition, the lifetime
of each CM in a cluster is limited to segment size. Moreover, the CH election and CM
affiliations are not based on mobility parameters; instead; these two rather rely on
bounded cluster region. Due to the speed difference, some of vehicles are not affiliated
to the CH and remain isolated. The CM instability increases due to frequent CM
changes and isolated vehicles.

In the CBLS scheme, the CM affiliation depends on the speed difference with
the CH. The CH allows those vehicles to join the cluster whose speed difference with
the CH is less than 18 km/h. Moreover, the maximum number of CMs in each cluster
is limited to 20 (Asoudeh et al., 2017). The stability of the CM in a cluster is increased
by using speed. However, due to sudden and frequent topology changes, speed varies
instantaneously which does not ensure the long lifetime of a CM in the cluster. Also,
those vehicles whose speed difference is greater than 18 km/h cannot affiliate to the
cluster. The isolated vehicles increase in the network due to fixed CM affiliation
threshold values. The location information of these vehicles are not updated to the
location servers.

13
 The MoGLS scheme proposed by Woo and Lee (2018) addresses the CM

VVIP instability by using speed and distance parameters to affiliate the vehicles as CMs.
Every vehicle calculates its sojourn time, the time that a vehicle remains in the range
of a CH for which it is responsible, compares this sojourn time with fixed threshold
value sent by the CH. If the value of the sojourn time is greater than predefined
threshold value, the vehicle joins the cluster as a cluster member otherwise waits for
the messages from the other CH. If there are more than one CHs in neighboring area,
the vehicle joins the cluster with a greater sojourn time as shown in Figure 1.7.

Figure 1.7 Cluster Member Affiliation

In the proposed MoGLS scheme, the CM stability is improved by considering

mobility parameters. The sojourn time calculation depends on the instantaneous values
of the speed. It is not based on optimum values of the speed due to which the CM and
CH soon become out of the range and the CM again continues its search for another
cluster. The vehicle joins and leaves the clusters shortly and frequently. This factor
affects the lifetime of a CM in a cluster. Also, some of vehicles could not affiliate with
the cluster due to predefined fixed threshold values. The number of the isolated
vehicles increases in the network due to which network overhead and cluster instability
increase.

The aforementioned location service schemes improve the performance of the

location service by reducing CM instability. However, CM instability still exists due
to unreliable link with the CH and instantaneous values of the speed. Moreover, the
number of isolated vehicles in the network increases due to CM affiliation criteria
which depends on predefined fixed CM affiliation threshold value to join the cluster.

14
The positions of the isolated vehicles are not updated to the server due to which query
success rate decreases.

Cambruzzi et al. (2016) and Huo et al. (2016) vehicles depend on the LLT to
affiliate with the CH. The vehicles join the cluster based on the larger staying time in
a cluster. The CM affiliation threshold value is determined by vehicle itself. Although,
the number of the isolated vehicles decreased, however, CMs switch between different
clusters due to instability of the existing CHs. Moreover, the LLT depends on the
instantaneous value of the speed, which does not confirm a reliable CM affiliation.
The lifetime of a CM in a cluster decreases.

Senouci, Aliouat, and Harous (2019a) CM affiliation relies on the speed

difference to allow a vehicle to join the cluster. The Undecided Node (UN) sends a
joining request to the nearby CH. The CH computes the relative speed with UN, then
compares this value with the average speed of the whole cluster. If the relative speed
is less than or equal to average speed of the cluster, then the CH allows the UN to join
as a CM. The existing scheme is more flexible in terms of fixed CM threshold value
as compared to the previous studies. The CM threshold value depends on the average
speed of the cluster. However, it does not make sure a direct relation with the speed of
the CH which does not ensure a reliable affiliation. Similarly, relative and average
speed are based on instantaneous values of the speed. Moreover, vehicles whose speed
is greater than average speed cannot join the cluster. The number of isolated vehicles
in the network increases which ultimately increase the CM instability.

More precisely, with the frequent and rapid changes in VANETs, instantaneous
mobility information obtained through beacon messages results into inaccurate link
estimations (Srivastava, Prakash, & Tripathi, 2020). Isolated nodes continuously
search nearby clusters to affiliate. If the number of isolated nodes in the network
increases, the network congestion and network overhead also increases which lead to
poor network performance (Huo et al., 2016).

Based on the previous discussion, it is observed that CM instability issue

occurs due to considering instantaneous speed of the CH while affiliating with the

15
 cluster. Also, each CH defines a threshold value to allow the vehicles with the existing
cluster. However, due to fixed threshold values, some of the vehicles could not affiliate
to any cluster and remain isolated. Instantaneous values lead to unreliable affiliation
with the CH. The affiliated CM change clusters frequently. The location updates and
location queries are affected. Also, due to fixed threshold values, the number of
isolated vehicles increases. Isolated vehicles continuously send and receive messages
to affiliate with the nearby clusters. The exchange of communication messages
between CH and CH increases which leads to extra communication overhead. The
delay and collision of messages increases. The locations of isolated vehicles are not
updated to any cluster which ultimately affects the performance of the location service.

The lifetime of each CM in a cluster reduces due to the CM affiliation scheme.

These issues increase the CM instability which ultimately affects the performance of
the location service in terms of query success rate, query response delay and
localization error. There is a need to improve the existing cluster member affiliation
schemes by considering a reliable link with the CH and dynamic CM affiliation
threshold values to reduce the CM instability.

1.2.3 Cluster Maintenance Instability

Due to high mobility of the vehicles, the cluster structure and network topology
change frequently. Several events are triggered at cluster level (Cheng and Huang,
2019) such as, existing CM loses its affiliation with the current cluster, the existing
CH deteriorates its stability or disappears due to issues in communication hardware,
overlapping of the clusters in neighboring area and cluster splitting around the
intersection. The stability of the clusters is suffered due to these events (Bi et al., 2020).

The cluster maintenance is a continuous process that monitors the stability of

the existing clusters and performs maintenance accordingly to manage these events.
The aim of the cluster maintenance is to maintain the cluster structure and reduce
cluster instability (Awan, Din, Almogren, Guizani, & Khan, 2020; Joshua, Duraisamy,

16
& Varadarajan, 2019). In this research, the cluster maintenance is performed by
focusing on the cluster merging and cluster splitting.

Existing cluster-based location service schemes are focused on location

updates, location queries, CH elections, CM affiliations to improve the performance
of the location service. On the other hand, these schemes overlooked cluster
maintenance which is a compulsory component to improve the stability of the clusters.
However, general clustering schemes depend on cluster maintenance to reduce the
cluster instability. Several schemes are proposed to address the cluster instability in
the cluster maintenance.

The stability of the cluster is affected when several clusters co-exist within a
short distance. The clusters overlap each other. The merging of clusters depends on
the overlapping range of the clusters and on the duration (also called Merging
Threshold Time (MTT) before the start of the merging. Due to topological changes in
VANETs, the distance and range change suddenly and frequently. So, in order to make
merging effective, the overlapping CHs wait up to MTT before the start of the merging.
After completing the merging, the next step is to elect the CH for the merged cluster.
The CMs of the merged cluster affiliate with the new CH (Awan et al., 2020; Farooq,
Ali, & Rehman, 2016; Lin et al., 2016).

The merging of the cluster is initiated when a CH determines that all its CMs
are merged into another cluster; the distance between CHs is less than 100m; and
sojourn time is greater than threshold value (Woo and Lee, 2018). The proposed
MoGLS scheme tried to make the merging of the cluster stable by adding range,
distance and sojourn time conditions. However, the MTT does not ensure that merging
clusters move towards each other or move away from each other. During MTT, the
merging clusters may move away from each other while staying in the range of each
other. The merging is started and completed which lead to unstable merging.
Moreover, the new CH is elected without considering the reliable link with the RSU.
These issues increase the cluster instability.

17
 Senouci et al. (2019a) merging process is invoked when two neighbouring
clusters overlap each other over a merging time. The CH with large number of the
CMs is elected as a CH of the merged cluster. Although, the proposed study simplifies
the merging criteria, however, the merging range and MTT are not defined. Also, the
new CH is elected without the link reliability with the RSU. Due to these issues, the
merging of the clusters is not affective and cluster instability increases.

When one CH comes into the range of another CH and both CHs are moving
in the same direction, then the cluster merging starts (Haider, Abbas, Boudjit, and
Halim, 2020). The vehicle which is at the middle of the merged cluster is elected as a
CH of the merged cluster. Although merging criteria is simple but without defining the
specific values of the merging conditions such as range and MTT, the merging process
is triggered frequently which increases cluster instability. Moreover, CH depends only
on the distance from the other vehicle without considering link status with the RSU.

The aforementioned cluster maintenance schemes reduce the cluster instability

by performing the cluster merging; however, there is still a need to improve cluster
merging by optimizing the merging conditions which includes overlapping distance
and Merging Threshold Time (MTT). Furthermore, the CH of the merged cluster is
elected without considering the reliable link with the RSU. So, overlapping causes
management and communication issues which increases the cluster instability.

Cluster instability occurs around the intersection due to divergent of the traffic
flow towards straight, left and right as arrowed in Figure 1.8. Existing CH moves only
in one direction and CMs of other directions lose their affiliations from the CH. The
following section analyzes the existing cluster splitting studies around the intersection.

Zhao, Liu, Wu, and Liu (2016) depend on the direction of the vehicles to
manage the clustering around the intersection. It is supposed that each vehicle knows
its turning direction before entering into the intersection area. The vehicles are
considered within the intersection area, when the distance between center of the
intersection and vehicles is less than 2R, where R is the transmission range. The most

18
middle vehicle in each direction is elected as a CH. Although the existing study tries
to split the existing cluster based on the direction parameters, but some limitations still
exist such as, when the existing cluster enters into the intersection area, the vehicles of
this cluster is splitted into three sub-clusters on the basis of left, right and straight
direction as shown in Figure 1.8. The CH of the existing stable cluster is re-elected.
The cluster instability increases due to clustering after entering the intersection area
and reclustering after leaving the intersection area. The CHs of the split clusters are
elected without considering the link status with the RSU. These issues increase the
cluster instability which degrades the performance of the location service.

Figure 1.8 Cluster Instability Around the Intersection

Zhou, Wu, and Wang (2017) attempt to improve the existing schemes by
reducing the clustering in the intersection area. In the proposed algorithm, the Base
Station (BS) elects the CH from the road segment which has large number of neighbors
and lowest Cluster Head Election Value (CHEV). The Weighted CHEV depends on
the relative position between vehicles and the relative distance from the vehicle to the
BS. The existing study tries to reduce the unnecessary clustering around the
intersection by electing only one CH in the intersection area. The CH election is based
only on distance parameter. The link reliability of CH with the BS is included by
considering the distance from the BS. Here, only CH has to managed the whole
intersection traffic. At the intersection, the vehicles are moving in different directions.
The elected CH can move only in one direction. When the distance between CH and
vehicles of other road sections increases beyond the communication range, vehicles
will lose their affiliations; as a result, the cluster instability increases.

19
 According to the aforementioned information, existing studies try to manage
the clustering around the intersection. Existing schemes performs the clustering when
cluster enters the intersection area and reclustering when cluster leaves the intersection
area. Even a stable cluster is reclustered. Cluster instability increases due to
unnecessary clustering. New CHs are defined at the cost of cluster instability. Also,
new CHs are elected without considering the link status with the RSU.

Cluster instability increases due to non-optimal cluster merging and splitting.

In the cluster merging, overlapping CHs wait up to merging threshold time before the
start of the merging. The merging threshold time depends on the fixed value or on the
update interval of only one CH. Also, the merging threshold time does not ensure that
overlapping clusters moves towards each other or away from each other which leads
to unreliable cluster merging. The collision of messages in the overlapping area
increases. The location updates and location queries are affected due to overlapping of
neighbouring CHs. Also, around the intersection, due to non-optimal cluster splitting
cluster instability increases. The non-optimal CH election parameters lead to
unnecessary clustering around the intersection. The communication overhead around
the intersection increases. The collision of messages increases. The location updates
and location queries of CMs are affected. The inter-cluster interference, congestion,
the contention and message loss increases due to non-optimum cluster merging and
splitting. Due to these issues, cluster instability increases. So, there is a need to
improve the existing cluster maintenance schemes to improve the performance of the
location service.

It concludes from the aforementioned discussion that although cluster-based

location service is preferred due to its advantages over non-cluster based location
service, but limitations still exist in terms of the cluster instability as identified in the
section 1.3.

20
1.3 Problem Statement

The cluster-based location service relies on the stability of the cluster. Cluster
stability is frequently affected because of high mobility, unreliable communication
links, and frequent changes in the topology. In the cluster-based location service, every
CH updates the locations of its CMs to RSU. In the existing cluster-based location
service schemes HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS, CH election is based on the reliable link
with other vehicles ignoring the link reliability with the RSU. Moreover, CH is elected
without optimum cluster formation range. The unreliable link with the RSU and non-
optimum cluster formation range surge CH instability. The CM is the vehicle whose
position is cached in the location servers. However, due to the reliance on
instantaneous values of the speed, CMs join and leave clusters frequently. Likewise,
some of the vehicles are not affiliated to any cluster due to the fixed CM affiliation
threshold values. The isolated vehicles in the network increase. These issues increase
the CM instability. After electing the CH and affiliating the vehicles as CMs, the
cluster stability depends on the efficiency of the cluster maintenance schemes.
However, non-optimum cluster merging and splitting; and unreliable links with the
RSU increase the cluster instability. In the cluster-based location service, location
updates and location queries are negatively affected with the CH instability, CM
instability and non-optimum cluster maintenance schemes. The CH and CM stability
is measured by CH lifetime and CM lifetime. The higher value of the CH lifetime
represents that CH is more stable and serve the cluster for longer time. Also, the higher
value of CM lifetime indicates that CM remains affiliated for larger time. The location
updates and location queries are improved which ultimately enhance the performance
of the location service in terms of the query success rate, query response delay and
localization error. The lower values of CH lifetime and CM lifetime leads to CH
instability and CM instability respectively.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions are formulated based on the discussion

provided in Sections 1.2 and 1.3.

21
 i. How to improve the process of electing a CH in order to enhance the CH
stability?
a) How to calculate the cluster formation range that increases cluster
stability?
b) How to evaluate the reliability of communication link between the
potential CH and RSU in order to enhance the CH stability?
ii. How to enhance the process of affiliating a vehicle in order to improve the
CM stability?
a) How to evaluate a reliable CH to affiliate a vehicle to improve CM
stability?
b) What are the necessary parameters to calculate CM affiliation threshold
value to reduce the isolated vehicles in the network?
iii. How to enhance the process and conditions of cluster maintenance to improve
cluster stability.?
a) What are the merging conditions need to be optimized to increase the
cluster stability?
b) What are the parameters that should be considered for reducing the
unnecessary clustering to improve the cluster stability?
c) What are the significance parameters that should be considered to enhance
the link reliability with the RSU?

1.5 Research Aim

The main aim of this research is to develop an Enhanced Stability of Cluster-

based Location Service (ESCLS) mechanism to improve the performance of the
location service in terms of Query Success Rate (QSR), Query Response Delay (QRD)
and Localization Error (LE).

22
 1.6 Research Objectives

The objectives of this research are designed based on the research questions
mentioned in the Section 1.4 as follows.

i. To develop a reliable CH election scheme that reduce the frequent CH changes

and enhance the link reliability with the RSU to improve the CH stability.
ii. To enhance a CM affiliation scheme that reduce the frequent CM changes and
isolated vehicles to improve the CM stability.
iii. To optimize a cluster maintenance scheme to stabilize the cluster merging and
cluster splitting to improve the cluster stability.

1.7 Research Contribution

The main contribution of this research is an ESCLS mechanism which is an

integrated outcome of following schemes:

i. The Reliable Cluster Head Election (RCHE) scheme enhances the CH stability
through optimizing the cluster formation range and improving the link
reliability of the CH with the RSU. The performance of the RCHE is evaluated
in terms CH lifetime, QSR and QRD.
ii. The Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member Affiliation (DCCMA) scheme
improves the CM stability through enhancing the link lifetime with the CH and
using dynamic CM affiliation threshold values. The performance of the
DCCMA is evaluated in terms of CM lifetime, QSR and fraction of vehicles
saved in the location servers.
iii. The Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM) scheme enhances the cluster
stability by optimizing cluster merging and splitting. The performance of the
OCM is evaluated in terms of QSR, QRD and LE.

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1.8 Research Scope

The scope of this research is as follows:

iv. Communication between Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to RSU is based
on IEEE 802.11p standard.
v. Focus on Urban VANETs which means network scenario is considered inside the
city.
vi. In this study V2V, Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) and Infrastructure to Vehicle
(I2V) communications are considered.
vii. The network scenario does not include complex city topologies such as bridges,
tunnels, and curved roads. Also, the network scenario does not include U-turns.
viii. Security-related issues for vehicles and RSUs are not considered.

1.9 Significance of the Research

This research contributes significantly to the field of ITS as it focusses on

developing the cluster-based location service mechanism that provides a wide range
interesting application such as to find the position of parking slot, emergency vehicles,
resource discovery vehicles, tracking and position-based routing. The ESCLS
mechanism is also applicable in other VANETs application such as routing, security,
information dissemination that depends on clustering approach to provide the
communication between vehicles. The performance of these application improves
through the enhanced cluster stability of ESCLS mechanism. Furthermore, as ESCLS
provide a reliable communication between CH and RSU, so the performance of the
applications that exploits RSU as a gateway increases.

24
1.10 Thesis Organization

The rest of this research work is organized as follows.

Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive literature review. This includes the

fundamental information about VANETs, clustering and location service. In
particular, the available solutions thoroughly examined to highlights the novelty of this
research, in terms of cluster head election, cluster member affiliation and cluster
maintenance.

Chapter 3 presents the research methodology. This includes the proposed

framework and simulation setup. The operational and research framework highlight
the proposed phases of the ESCLS such as RCHE, DCCMA and OCM. The proposed
scheme is simulated using network simulator Objective Modular Network Testbed in
C++ (OMNET++). The Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) is used as a traffic
simulator. The Vehicles In Network Simulation (VEINS) is used as a middleware
framework to connect OMNET++ and SUMO. The various assumptions and
limitations are also considered in the simulation setup of this research.

Chapter 4 demonstrates the development of the RCHE scheme. It addresses the

problem of cluster head instability. The simulation results are evaluated on the basis
of speed and density to observe the lifetime of the CH.

Chapter 5 presents the development of the DCCMA scheme. It addresses the

problem of the cluster member instability by enhancing the reliability with the CH and
using dynamic CM affiliation threshold values. Moreover, the simulation results are
also analyzed to observe the effect of speed and density on the lifetime of the CM.

Chapter 6 details the development of the OCM scheme. It addresses the

problem of cluster instability due to the overlapping of the neighbouring clusters and
unnecessary clustering during cluster splitting. The performance of the proposed
cluster maintenance scheme is evaluated through simulation.

25
 Chapter 7 concludes this work by summarized research achievements and
outlines the future research directions.

26
 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, a critical review of the latest and relevant literature is presented
which provides the necessary background information and establishes the foundation
for the material presented in the subsequent chapters. Firstly, an overview of VANETs
is presented in Section 2.2 which explains the concepts and characteristics of the
VANETs. Section 2.3 describes the different types of location service schemes in
VANET. Subsequently, Section 2.4 critically discusses the existing CH election
schemes in VANETs. Thereafter, Section 2.5 reviews the existing CM affiliation
schemes. Next to that, Section 2.6 investigates the shortcomings of the existing cluster
maintenance schemes. Eventually, based on literature review, the unresolved issues
regarding cluster instability are identified in Section 2.7. Finally, this chapter is
concluded by a summary in Section 2.8. The general structure of the literature review
is presented in Figure 2.1; arrow represents the hierarchy of location service in
VANETs.

2.2 VANETs

VANETs are the networks consisting of a large number of vehicles which have
sensing, processing, and moving capabilities. The unique characteristics of VANETs
include: rapid topological changes, frequent network disconnections, high node
mobility, large number of vehicles and frequent density variations (Haider, Abbas,
Abbas, & Baker, 2019; Sharma and Kaul, 2018). In VANETs, vehicles’
communication is based on two scenarios: Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle to
Infrastructure (V2I) or Infrastructure to Vehicle (I2V). Infrastructure may be an RSU,
Base Station (BS) or any other similar device. Vehicles depend on V2V

27
communication to exchange information with each other. In V2I, vehicle sends
messages to infrastructure whereas I2V is used to send messages from server to
vehicles as shown in Figure 2.2 (Ullah, Yaqoob, Imran, & Ning, 2018; Younes and
Boukerche, 2015).

Figure 2.1 Structure of the Literature Review

28
 All vehicles are embedded with communication device called On Board Units
(OBU) to exchange information (Arif, Wang, Bhuiyan, Wang, & Chen, 2019; Manvi
and Tangade, 2017).

Figure 2.2 VANETs V2V and V2I Communications

The VANETs communications V2V and V2I are provided through Dedicated
Short-Range Communication (DSRC) standard that is based on IEEE 802.11p protocol
(Sheikh and Liang, 2019). The DSRC operates in the 5.9 GHz band in which 75MHz
is reserved for the VANETs applications. The available 75MHz is divided into 7
channels with 10MHz for each channel and a guard band of 5MHz (Shah et al., 2019;
Zemouri et al., 2015). The Control Channel (CCH) is dedicated for the safety
applications while the Service Channels are reserved for the non-safety applications as
shown in Figure 2.3 (Santamaria, Tropea, Fazio, & De Rango, 2018; Ghandour, Felice,
Artail, & Bononi, 2014).

Figure 2.3 DSRC Channel Frequency Band

29
 The RSU is a fixed communication device deployed on the roadside to manage
the network. RSUs work as a gateway between VANETs and the other types of
networks (Pan, Cui, Wei, Xu, & Zhong, 2019; Vegni and Loscri, 2015). An
infrastructure-based network relies on RSUs to provide different types of services such
as getting the information about nearest restaurant, gas station, petrol pump and
parking stands (Boussoufa-Lahlah et al., 2018; Ali, Malik, Rahman, Iqbal, &
Hamayun, 2016; Hoeft and Rak, 2016).

The RSU based applications need different types of the information such as
weather, vehicles density, location and information about different services. Vehicles
send information to the nearest RSU, which exchanges it with higher level servers to
process the information. (Ali et al., 2019; Al-Mayouf et al., 2018; Ganeshkumar and
Gokulakrishnan, 2015). Different types of applications such as routing, channel access
management, information dissemination, security and location service exploit RSU to
get required information (Awan et al., 2020; Al-Otaibi, Al-Nabhan, & Tian, 2019).

2.3 Location Service in VANETs

Location service is used to keep the record of the current position of vehicles
in VANETs. Referring to section 1.2, the existing location service schemes are divided
into non-cluster based location service schemes and cluster-based location service
schemes. The critical analysis of existing location service schemes, cluster-based and
non-cluster based location service, is given in the following section and is highlighted
in Table 2.2.

2.3.1 Non Cluster-based Location Service Schemes

Non cluster based location service schemes consist of flooding-based location

service schemes and quorum-based location service schemes. Both types of the

30
schemes depend on the flooding approach to provide the location of a vehicle. The
description of these schemes is given in the following sections.

The flooding-based location service schemes (flat schemes) depend on the

flooding approach to send its location information to all other vehicles in the network.
In the Mobility Assisted Location Management (MALM) scheme proposed by (Mo et
al., 2008), each vehicle depends on two tables to disseminate the location information.
In the location table, each vehicle stores the location information received from other
vehicles in the network. Whereas, dissemination table cached the location information
that is broadcasted over the whole network. The dissemination table is updated based
on the comparison with the location table. The location information dissemination is
based on simple idea as shown in Figure 2.4, in which at time t, vehicle A updates its
location information to its neighbours vehicles B, C and D. Due to mobility of the
vehicles, after the time period t, vehicles moves to the new positions. Now vehicle B,
C and D disseminate the location information to its neighbours, including the historical
information of the vehicle A. Through this approach, the location information of
vehicles is updated over the network. When a vehicle needs the location information
of a vehicle, it floods the request to its neighbours. If a neighbour vehicle has the
requested information, it will respond; otherwise, it will again disseminate this request
to its neighbours to fulfill the query. Location updates and queries depend on
broadcasting approach to locate and update the location of a vehicle which creates
extra communication overhead in the network.

Figure 2.4 Location Updates in Flat Schemes

Wu, Ohzahata, JI, & Kato (2014) depend on 3-hop distance to disseminate the
location information. The backbone vehicle updates and responds the location queries.

31
The Totally Distributed Flat Location Service (TDFLS) scheme reduced the
communication overhead that occurred due to flooding using 3-hop communication.
However, location update and location query are still based on flooding approach.

The Semi-Flooding Location Service (SFLS) scheme proposed by Mühlethaler

et al. (2020) depends on the principle of reducing the flooding by decreasing the
location update messages. Every vehicle broadcasts its location information
periodically based on the timestamp. When a vehicle receives the location information
of its neighbouring vehicles, it compares the timestamp of received packet. If the
received location information is equal or older than previously saved information, it
discards the packet; otherwise the new location information is saved. Through this
approach, one in q, message is forwarded to the neighbors. In case of q = 3, only one
message out of three is forwarded. The proposed SFLS scheme reduced the
communication overhead by reducing the number of messages, however, the scheme
is still based on the broadcasting of the update messages.

The aforementioned flooding based location service schemes depend on the

simple location updates and location queries. The high number of messages exchanged
between vehicles creates congestion and contention. The location updates and location
queries are affected which degrades the performance of the location service in terms
of query success rate and localization error.

The quorum-based location service schemes have been developed to

overcome the weaknesses of the flooding-based schemes. The quorum-based location
service schemes depend on the basic idea, in which, vehicles update their location
information to a subset of vehicles acting as an update quorum. The vehicle which
needs the location information of a vehicle sends a query to another group of vehicles
called query quorum. The vehicle which is at the intersection of an update and query
quorum provides the location of the required vehicle. The quorum-based schemes
make use of the intersection point between location update quorum and location query
quorum to provide the location service (Lee, Choe, Thirumurthi, Gerla, & Kim, 2013).

32
 In the Quorum-based location service, Stojmenovic, Liu, and Jia (2008)
vehicles update their location information in north and south directions. All the
vehicles which receive the location updates make a north-south column. The vehicle
which needs the location of another vehicle broadcasts a query in the east and west
direction to search through the whole network. All participating vehicles make west-
east row. The location information of the required vehicle is obtained at the
intersection of the row and column as shown in Figure 2.5.

Figure 2.5 Quorum Formation

Lee et al. (2013) quorum-based location service, defines quadrangular path

quorum and line path quorum. Each vehicle sends its location to the nearest sensor.
Sensors propagate the location information of the vehicles in forward and backward
direction. The collection of the sensors from Center Intersection Point (CIP) to the
boundary sensors forms the line path quorum (also called location update quorum).
The source vehicle sends a location query message to a candidate intersection which
is farthest from the source. The location query message propagates based on the
horizontal-first and vertical-last rule which results in location query quadrangle
quorum. To find the location of the required vehicle, the developed Quorum-based
Location Service (QLS) scheme exploits the concept of crossing point between
location update quorum and location query quorum.

The ZoomOut Geographic Location (ZGLS) scheme proposed by Rehan et al.

(2018) depends on location update and location query quorums to provide the location

33
information. In the proposed ZGLS scheme, one-hop neighbours are organized into
relatives. During location update, the relatives act as a chain of location servers. The
location update messages move in front and backward directions using these chain of
location servers. When a vehicle generates a query request, a relative that is nearest to
the querying source responses the query. Location update and location query schemes
are simplified but have issues during quorum constructions. The location updates
transverse the whole network through the chain of location servers without any specific
boundary limits. The location update quorums create extra communication overhead.
Also, the performance of the ZGLS is affected in the absence of any infrastructure
such as RSUs (Yim et al., 2017).

In the aforementioned non-cluster based location service schemes, vehicles

depend on the flooding, semi-flooding, location update and location query quorums
to provide the location of a vehicle. These schemes depend on flooding approach to
locate the position of another vehicle which leads to broadcast storm problem.
Network congestion and contention increase which affects the location updates and
location queries. Consequently, the performance of the location service degrades. To
improve the performance of the location service, a hierarchical network topology,
called cluster, is proposed for VANETs (Fatemidokht and Rafsanjani, 2020; Shah et
al., 2019; Latif et al., 2018).

In the cluster-based location service, the CH collects the location information

of its CMs, updates these locations to higher-level sever and responds different queries
related to location. The performance of the cluster-based location service depends on
the stability of the CH, CM and maintenance schemes. Cluster-based location service
has its own working environment, where a CH has to perform clustering functions as
well as location service. The following subsections critically analyze the cluster-based
location service schemes.

34
2.3.2 Cluster-based Location Service Schemes

This section investigates the existing cluster-based location service schemes in

VANETs. The first part of this section highlights the advantages of the clustering
approach in VANETs and the efficiency of the general clustering and application
specific clustering such as information dissemination, channel access management,
security and routing in terms of their implementation as cluster-based location service.

A cluster is a logical group of vehicles having similar characteristics. The CH

is responsible to manage the cluster functions such as inter-cluster and intra-cluster
communications, and tasks related to different applications such as routing, location
updating, information dissemination and security related functions. The other vehicles
in the group are called CMs (Qi, Song, Wang, Guo, & Ning, 2018; Bali, Kumar, &
Rodrigues, 2014; Toor, Muhlethaler, Laouiti, & Fortelle, 2008).

Clustering helps in different applications by improving the scalability,

reliability, and reducing the communication overhead and saving significant resources.
Clustering is a hierarchical approach within the VANETs, which reduces the routing
overheads and contention during route discovery and data forwarding (Khan et al.,
2018, Shah et al., 2018; Chen, Fang, Shi, Guo, & Zheng, 2015). A large number of
clustering schemes are proposed for general and application specific purposes in
VANETs. Each one is described in the following subsections in the context of the
location service requirements.

The general clustering schemes are designed without considering the

requirements of any specific application. Most of the existing studies aimed to improve
the cluster stability by improving the CH election schemes. The CM lifetime is
improved by optimizing the CM affiliation schemes based on the distance, speed
difference and link lifetime with the CH. Due to high mobility of the vehicles, the
cluster structure and network topology change frequently. In the general clustering, all
resources such as bandwidth and channel access are fully utilized to maximize the
stability of the clusters (Daoud, Hamarsheh, & Damati, 2020; Alsuhli, Khattab, &
Fahmy, 2019; Hajlaoui, Alsolami, Moulahi, & Guyennet, 2019b; Zhang et al., 2018;

35
Rossi, Fan, Chin, & Leung, 2017; Ren, Khoukhi, Labiod, Zhang, & Veque, 2017a;
Ren, Zhang, Khoukhi, Labiod, & Vèque, 2017b; Azizian, Cherkaoui, & Hafid, 2016;
Huo et al., 2016; Singh and Bali, 2015; Arkian et al., 2015; Ucar, Ergen, & Ozkasap,
2013). The CH election schemes are optimized without considering the requirements
of specific applications. Therefore, stability of the cluster is suffered when these
schemes are used in different applications such as location service. The location
service has its own characteristics in which CH has to perform location updates and
location queries apart from other cluster management functions. So, there is a need to
design clustering schemes while keeping with the requirements of location service.

The main objective of the information dissemination schemes is to provide the

up-to-date information about different events such as current status of the traffic,
emergency incidents, road damages and information about different services which
includes parking, gas stations and nearby restaurants. The main focus of these schemes
is to send messages with maximum coverage, high reliability and low delay. The
information dissemination depends on the clustering approach to reduce the flooding
effect and to send the messages over large distance. The reliability and scalability of
the message dissemination are improved through the use of the clustering approach
(Abbas et al., 2020; Mchergui, Moulahi, Othman, & Nasri, 2020; Benkerdagh and
Duvallet, 2019; Shafi and Ratnam, 2019; Dua, Kumar, & Bawa, 2017; Ramakrishnan,
Selvi, Nishanth, & Joe, 2017; Sadou and Bouallouche-Medjkoune, 2017; Bali and
Kumar, 2016; Farooq et al., 2016; Ucar, Ergen, & Ozkasap, 2015; Ghodrati, 2013).
Whereas, in the cluster based location service, CHs collect the location information
then forward it to the infrastructure servers. In contrast to clustering for information
dissemination, location service clustering does not focus on delivering the message to
all the vehicles, rather its concern is to collect the location information from all the
vehicles in a timely manner. Therefore, clustering for information dissemination
focuses on the scalability and network congestion issues, while location service
clustering focuses on the vehicles’ mobility issues and how to keep track of the
vehicles’ locations. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the clustering algorithms
designed for information dissemination can satisfy the requirements of location
service.

36
 The main objective of the Channel Access Management (CAM) is to improve
the performance of different applications such as information dissemination, routing
and security by optimizing the channel utilization. Different approaches such as
RTS/CTS and CSMA/CA are used to manage the channel access. In the cluster-based
channel access management, the CH allocates the bandwidth for its CMs on the basis
of predefined criteria. (Ağgün et al., 2020; Chaurasia et al., 2019; Pal et al., 2018;
Gupta, Prakash, & Tripathi, 2017; Gupta, Prakash, & Tripathi, 2016; Zhang et al.,
2014; Hafeez et al., 2013; Yang, Tang, & Huang, 2013; Almalag, Olariu, & Weigle,
2012; Hafeez, Zhao, Liao, & Ma, 2011). In the channel access management, the main
task of the CH is to assign channels to its cluster members according to the
requirements of the applications. The ultimate objective of the CAM based clustering
is to make efficient use of bandwidth to avoid collisions. However, the location service
clusters aim to maximize their stability by focusing on vehicles’ mobility parameters.
It is obvious that clustering for the purpose of channel management does not consider
into account the requirements of location service.

Clustering approach is also playing a significant role to secure the network.

The CH is elected not only based on position, speed and direction but also on the
security parameters such as trust level. The CHs are used to manage the key
distribution in security systems. Vehicles are registered to a Certificate Authority (CA)
that holds the data related to vehicles such as vehicles’ ID, encryption and decryption
keys (Usha and Ramakrishnan, 2020; Bylykbashi et al., 2019; Kchaou, Abassi, &
Guemara, 2018; Sugumar, Rengarajan, & Jayakumar, 2018; Guo, Liaw, Chiu, & Deng,
2016; Wahab, Mourad, Otrok, & Bentahar, 2016; Daeinabi and Rahbar, 2014 ; Xie,
Wu, SHEN, & Alelaiwi, 2017). The majority of the cluster-based security schemes
focus on the security and trust worthiness of the CH and CMs, whereas as cluster-
based location service emphasizes on the stability of the CH and CMs while neglecting
security of CH and CMs. However, it is very important to provide trusted location
information and to protect vehicles’ location information from different attacks.
Therefore, both the security and the stability of clusters requirements are necessary to
be considered in cluster-based location service.

37
 Clustering plays a vital role in position based routing through forming a
hierarchical structure over the existing adhoc network. The use of clustering in routing
protocol minimizes flooding and reduces interfacing between vehicles. The scalability
of the routing protocols is increased through the use of clustering. In the majority of
the cluster-based routing protocols, CH performs the inter-cluster communications
(Aravindhan and Dhas, 2019; Zhang et al., 2019; Abuashour and Kadoch, 2018;
Moridi and Barati, 2017; Abuashour and Kadoch, 2016; Lin et al., 2016; Mohammed,
Abdelgader, Wang, & Shen, 2016; Mehra, Bali, & Kaur, 2016; Satyajeet, Deshmukh,
& Dorle, 2016; Abboud and Zhuang, 2015; Paul, Ibrahim, Bikas, & Naser, 2012; Raw
and Das, 2011). When clustering is used for the purpose of routing, the concern is to
create clusters that are stable enough to deliver the messages from the source to the
destination. In the position-based routing, to find the location of the destination, source
node uses location service and broadcasts location requests to the intermediate nodes
until it reaches the destination. The destination node replies with a geo-unicast packet
(Sandonis et al., 2016). The performance of the position-based routing depends on the
efficiency of the location service.

Therefore, it is concluded from the aforementioned discussion that the

clustering schemes proposed for each application work differently in order to optimize
the performance of that application. Each application has its own requirements and
priorities to provide the optimum performance. General clustering focuses on
improving the stability of the cluster. The objective of the routing clustering is to
enhance the route stability. The CAM exploits clustering to assign channels to make
efficient use of bandwidth and to avoid collisions. The information dissemination
depends on clustering to disseminate the information with maximum coverage and
minimum delay, whereas, in security, clustering is used to secure the information. The
main aim of the cluster-based location service is to provide the accurate location
information with minimum delay. Table 2.1 presents the main characteristics of the
location service.

38
 Table 2.1 Location Service Specific Characteristics

Characteristics
Cluster In the cluster based location, at a lower level, CH collects and
Stability maintains the locations of its CMs. Performance of the location
service highly depends on the stability of the clusters.
Minimum Isolated or Undecided Nodes (UN) are those vehicles which could
Isolated not be affiliated to any cluster due to CH or CM affiliation criteria.
vehicles In order to enhance the performance of location service, there
should be minimum isolated vehicles in the whole network.
Efficiency The performance of the location service depends on location
update and location query schemes. Overhead of location updates
and location queries should be kept minimum to improve the
efficiency of the location service.
Robustness Location service utilizes location server to maintain locations.
Location service should not be disrupted due to failure or
disconnection of these server from network.
Load Balancing Location service should utilize load balancing techniques to avoid
congestions in the network.
Locality Distance between location server and querying source should be
Awareness less than the distance between source and destination. Location
query packets should not be propagated unnecessarily over the
whole network.
Accuracy Location service should provide accurate and up-to-date location
of vehicles in the network.

Scalability When the number of vehicles in network increases, the

performance of the location service should be sustained by
maintaining above characteristics.

The critical analysis of the cluster-based location service which includes static
and dynamic clustering is given in the following section.

39
2.3.2.1 Static Cluster-based Location Service Schemes

A critical analysis of the location service schemes based on static clustering is

given in the following section. In the static clustering, the area is divided into different
segments and the collection of vehicles in each segment defines a cluster. A CH is
elected based on the position of a vehicle in segment. All other vehicles are designated
as CMs.

An Efficient Map Based Location Service (EMBLS) scheme developed by

Ashok et al. (2011) defines two level hierarchy by dividing the whole city into four
squares. At first level, within each square, Intersection Leaders (IL) are identified at
different intersections based on the vehicular density at that intersection. All those
vehicles that are within half the range (0.5R | R: Radio range) from the center of the
intersections are selected as IL. Each vehicle sends its location information to the
nearest IL. At second level, Location servers are identified approximately at the center
of the city based on high density intersections. All vehicles update their location to IL
and IL sends aggregate information to location servers using greedy perimeter stateless
routing. Redundancy is reduced by sending aggregated updates and load is distributed
by using large number of ILs and location servers. However, location servers are
defined without considering mobility parameters which shortens the lifetime of
location servers. Location servers at both levels are moving vehicles which increases
server instability and many vehicles might lose their association with certain ILs due
to their varying speed. For all those vehicles moving in a different direction with
respect to IL, the distance between vehicles and ILs increases which affects the
location updates and location queries.

In Efficient Cost-Based (ECB) location service scheme, a map is distributed

into two levels (Hsu and Wu, 2012). Each level-2 grid consists of a location server. It
acts as a location server for local vehicles and dedicated location server for a subset of
remaining vehicles. Cost functions are defined to evaluate the cost of location update
and query. Location servers are elected from areas based on the cost functions.
Location update cost in ECB is less than EMBLS because it only requires to update
the location information to local and dedicated location servers. Local vehicles easily

40
update their information to location servers, but it is very difficult for the vehicles
which are away from the dedicated servers to update their position. Location servers
are elected without considering mobility parameters which creates location server’s
instability. Furthermore, when location servers enter or leave the current area,
handover issues are created. Even more to this, an extra communication overhead is
created which degrades the performance of the location service.

Moreover, the Hierarchical Map-based Location Service (HMLS) scheme

divides the whole city into level-2 squares, and each level-2 square is divided into four
level-1 squares ( Garg et al., 2014). Responsible Servers (RS) at the centers of level-
2 and Responsible Leaders (RL) at the centers of level-1 are elected using minimum
speed and high-density parameters as shown in Figure 2.6.

Figure 2.6 Static Clustering Based on Area Division

Each vehicle sends its location information to RL and RL updates these

locations to RS. Before moving away from their responsible area, each RL/RS hands
over the database information to new RL/RS having minimum distance. The HMLS
enhanced EMBLS scheme by adding minimum speed metric along with high density
intersection to improve lifetime of RL and RS. It is also used to reduce the location
update delay by adding two levels hierarchy. Extra signalling overhead still exists due
to handover process.

41
 A real time traffic monitoring system developed by Aissaoui et al. (2014) is
based on the usage of RSUs. A road is divided into fixed size units as shown in Figure
2.7, where each unit defines a cluster. The vehicle nearest to the unit center is
automatically elected as a CH. Every vehicle shares its speed, location and direction
information with the CH periodically. To keep up to date view of the vehicles on the
road, CH updates this information to its nearest RSU. Location information of those
vehicles which are within the cluster but the outside range of CH is not updated to the
CH. CH is elected without considering mobility parameters due to which cluster
instability increases. This factor will degrade the performance of the monitoring
system that is based on the location service.

Figure 2.7 Static Clustering Based on Road Division

Hierarchical Cluster-Based Location Service (HCBLS) scheme comprises of

three levels hierarchy (Aissaoui et al., 2015). The lowest level is the cluster. Each CH
updates information about vehicles to its nearest Road Side Unit (RSU) and RSU sends
updates to regional location server. RSUs are used to store the information which
decreases the updating cost. CH depends on the nearest vehicle to RSU to forward the
location information. When the distance between CH and forwarding vehicle
increases, signal strength reduces which results in messages loss and poor quality.
HCBLS depends on static clustering to provide the location service. Road is divided
into fixed segments to define the cluster. The vehicle nearest to the center of the
segment is elected as a CH. A separate CH is defined for each cluster. The CH for each
segment is elected without including the speed parameter. The CH instability exists
due to fixed size clusters. The lifetime of each CH relies on the size of the partitions
and speed of vehicles. The lifetime of each CH decreases with the increase of the speed
and increases with the decrease of the speed. Each vehicle affiliates with the existing
CH of the segment. The CM lifetime of each vehicle is limited to segment because

42
each CM affiliates with a new CH in each segment. The HCBLS did not proposed any
cluster maintenance scheme, which further increases the cluster instability.

For resolving the lack of RSUs, Aissaou et al. (2016) use vehicles nearest to
the intersections as RSU. At the intersections, where RSUs are not available, one of
nearest vehicle to the intersection is elected to perform the functions of an RSU. The
vehicle with the lowest speed within a defined radius is elected as an RSU. Typically,
in normal CM-CH scenario, every CM sends its location information to its respective
CH. The CH updates these locations to an RSU but in this intersection scenario, the
CH sends location information to one of its CM which is not stable as compared to the
CH. An RSU designation is based on lowest speed; and fast speed CHs bypass quickly
without handing over location information of its CMs. High density also affects the
election of vehicle as RSU. Although this study has tried to reduce RSU deployment
cost, but dependency on the instable vehicle affects the location update and location
queries, which ultimately will degrade the performance of the location service.

Van Gulik, Phillipson, and Fouchal (2018) depend on RSU to define the static
clusters. Each RSU does not only provide the location of the target vehicle, but also
provides the best path from source to destination. Congestion is reduced by assigning
penalty cost to the selected roads. The focus of this study is to optimize the routing by
reducing congestion. The performance of the location service is affected due to
depending completely on RSUs. In order to find the location, the RSUs interconnect
with each other without any central location server. Due to which, communication
overhead and location query delay increase.

A static cluster is formed within the range of RSU (Nebbou, Lehsaini, Fouchal,
and Ayaida, 2019). Every vehicle in the range of an RSU updates its location to RSU.
The objective of this study is to reduce the cluster formation overhead and signalling
cost by designating RSU as location server and integrating location service and routing
functions respectively. Positions of those vehicles which are not in the range of RSU
is not updated to RSU due to which the delay and query success rate are affected.

43
 On the basis of the aforementioned discussion, it is observed that static cluster-
based location service schemes consider the area division approach to make the
clusters. Vehicles in each division form a cluster. Static clustering has some
advantages such as simplicity of cluster formation. CHs are elected without any extra
signalling cost and complexity. The reference point and boundary of each cluster is
defined. Every CH is only responsible for its designated area. Regarding
disadvantages, CH election depends on specific locations such as high-density
intersections. These schemes did not ensure the proximity between location servers
and vehicles. The position of those vehicles which are outside the range of location
server is not updated. The ratio of isolated vehicles increases on the network. Location
servers are elected without completely considering mobility parameters. When these
location servers leave their respective areas, new location servers are defined. Due to
this, location server election process occurs frequently which affects the performance
of the location service. Update and query packets seem to be forwarded several times
to the location servers at level-2 and level-3. Similarly, each location server updates
the location of vehicles to a higher-level server. Location updates and location queries
are affected due to unreliable link between these location servers. Likewise, frequent
handover occurs when location server moves between different areas. Moreover, when
these servers move out of their designated areas, the hierarchies of location servers
change. The location queries related to these servers are forwarded to the next higher-
level servers which increases overhead and delay until the reformation of the new
location servers is finalized.

Furthermore, in the static cluster–based location service schemes, CMs affiliate

with a new CH in each cluster due to clustering boundary limits. These CMs
affiliations are not based on mobility parameters, instead they rely on bounded cluster
region. The vehicles whose speed is not similar to the CH change clusters frequently.
This factor affects the flexibility of clustering process.

In order to resolve the aforementioned issues, existing studies rely on the

dynamic clustering to improve the performance of the location service. In the dynamic
clustering, the scope of the cluster is not limited to the segment size as CMs move with
the CH.

44
2.3.2.2 Dynamic Cluster-based Location Service Schemes

In the dynamic clustering, clusters are formed by vehicles moving in the same
direction and have similar characteristics such as speed and distance between vehicles
(Woo and Lee, 2018; Asoudeh et al., 2017; Woo and Lee, 2011). CH is elected from
vehicles having optimum mobility parameters.

Mobile Group-based Location Service Management (MG-LSM) depends on

dynamic clustering to improve the performance of the location service by reducing the
communication overhead and improving the location query accuracy (Woo and Lee,
2011). The CH election depends on the direction and distance from other vehicles
without defining any fixed segement. Every CM sends its location to CH and CH
updates these location to fixed location server. The cluster stability in terms of CH and
CM is improved due to dynamic clustering appraoch.

Cluster Based Location Service (CBLS) scheme depends on distance, speed,

number of neighbours and direction to elect the CH (Asoudeh et al., 2017). The
proposed CBLS scheme depends on the mobility parameters for grouping the vehicles.
The performance of the location service is improved through location query algorithm.
Each vehicle calculates its Cluster Head Election Value (CHEV) that is aggragated
sum of distance difference and speed difference with other vehicle in its
communication range. Each vehicle broadcasts its CHEV. Each vehicle compare this
CHEV value with its own CHEV. If the received CHEV is better than its own CHEV,
then the vehicle broadcasts it again to other vehicles, otherwise declare itself as a CH.
The CHEV messages of the vehicles, whose delay is more than a certain threshold
value are discarded. The CH election process takes place without defing a specific
range. Due to undefined range and broadcast approach, the communication overhead
increases. The collision and delay of messages increases which lead to unreliable
computation of the CHEV. The CH instability increases. The CM depends on the
speed difference with the CH to elect the CH. The vehicles whose speed difference
with other vehicles is greater than 18 km/h could not affiliate to any CH. The number
of unaffiliated vehicles in the network increases, which further increase the network
overhead. The CM instability increases. Also, cluster intability increase due to the
absence of any cluster maintenance scheeme. The CH and CM stability is increased as

45
compared to static clustering, in which lifetime of each CH and CM is limited to road
segment.

Mobile Group-based Location Service (MoGLS) scheme considers distance,

speed and direction to combine the vehicles into clusters (Woo and Lee, 2018). The
MoGLS scheme exploits the dynamic clustering to improve the performance of the
location by reducing communication overhead and increasing the reliability. The
reliability is achieved through moving the CMs with CHs. The communication
overhead is reduced by the aggregating the location updates. The number of handovers
between location servers are reduced due to dynamic clustering. If a vehicle does not
receive beacon messages from its neighbour vehicles, it advertises itself as a CH. CH
election is simple but it does not consider mobility parameters such as speed, distance
which causes the CH instability. In order to affilatate with a CH, each vehicle
calcualtes its sojourn time and sends to the existing CH. The CH compares this value
with the predefined fixed value. The sojourn time depends on the instantaneous values
of the speed, which increases the CM instability. Also, fixed threshold value increases
the isolated vehicles in the network. In the cluster maintenance, cluster merging
scheme is proposed, but due to fixed merging threshold value and merging distance
between overlapping CHs, the cluster instability increases. The location updates and
location queries are affected which degrades the performance of the locaton service.

A large number of existing applications such as routing, channel access

management, information dissemination and security use the dynamic approach due
to its benefits such as stability, flexibility, scalability and reliability as compared to
static clustering (Aravindhan and Dhas, 2019; Zhang et al., 2018; Dua et al., 2017;
Azizian et al., 2016).

One of the important characteristics of dynamic clustering is that vehicles

move with its CH. Vehicles having similar characteristics form one cluster. Cluster
stability is obtained at the cost of cluster formation overhead. In the dynamic cluster-
based location service, flexibility is obtained through automating the process of CH
election CM joining, leaving and the cluster merging. When cluster moves with its

46
members, it reduces the usage of intermediate links to update the data to a higher-level
server. Every CM communicates with other vehicles in the network through its
respective CH which reduces the communication overhead and increases the
scalability.

Dynamic cluster-based location service depends on dynamic approach to

provide the location service. Dynamic clustering is more flexible and reliable as
compared to static clustering in terms of cluster stability. However, cluster stability is
affected due to rapid and sudden topological changes. The cluster stability depends on
the CH election, CM affiliation and cluster maintenance schemes. The stability of the
CH depends on the election criteria which relies on the optimum values of the distance,
speed and other similar parameters. One of the main challenges in dynamic clustering
is to elect a most suitable vehicle as a CH according to the requirement of the location
service.

A CM is the vehicle whose position is being maintained. Stability of a CM in

a cluster is a key requirement to improve the performance of the location service.
Frequent change of the CMs creates CM affiliation overhead and degrades the
performance of the location service. Moreover, due to the limitations of CM
affiliations schemes, some vehicles remain isolated and may not be able to join any
cluster. As a result, their position is not updated to any CH, due to which location query
success rate decreases.

Furthermore, another important requirement for the cluster-based location

service is the continuous cluster maintenance. There is a need to improve the
maintenance schemes such as cluster merging, cluster splitting and CM leaving
schemes in the context of location service requirement. Existing studies have tried to
enhance the location update and location query schemes but there is still a need to
optimise the location update and location query schemes.

Although, dynamic clustering is more flexible and scalable, but there is still a
need to enhance the cluster stability by improving the CH election, the CM affiliations

47
and cluster maintenance schemes. The critical analysis of the clustering schemes is
given in the sections 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 in the context of the location service. Table 2.2
highlights the pros and cons of various location service schemes. Table 2.3 compares
the existing cluster-based location service schemes.

Table 2.2 Analysis of Location Service Schemes

Location Pros Cons

Service
Categories
Simple, less computation Flooding overhead, network
Flat complexity, No infrastructure cost contention and congestion,
increased delay and localization
error, low throughput
Quorum- Simple Location updates and Complex Quorum formation,
based query schemes, No infrastructure quorum boundary issues,
cost Increased overhead, increased
localization error
Hierarchical simple Cluster formation, less High CH and CM instability,
(Static overhead, increased location update and
clustering) location query delay, decreased
query success rate and high ,
infrastructure cost
Hierarchical The CMs move with CH, more Cluster instability, cluster
( Dynamic flexible and reliable, enhanced formation and maintenance
clustering) cluster stability communication overhead,
infrastructure cost

48
 Table 2.3 Analysis of Cluster-Based Location Service Schemes
Reference LS Election Parameters Dynamicity CH Link CH
Reliability Instability
with CMs
Ashok et al. (2011) High density intersections Static Average High

Hsu and Wu (2012) Center of the region Static Low High

Garg et al. (2014) Lowest speed and high density Static Average High

Aissaoui et al. (2014) Distance from the center Static Low High

Aissaoui et al. (2015) Distance from the center Static Low High

Aissaou et al. (2016) Distance from the center Static Low High

Van Gulik et al. (2018) RSU range Static Average Average

Nebbou et al. (2019) RSU range Static Average Average
Woo and Lee, (2011) Direction, center of the group Dynamic Low Average

Asoudeh et al. (2017) Distance, speed, direction and Dynamic Low Average
neighbours
Woo and Lee (2018) No of beacon messages Dynamic Average Average

49
 2.4 Review of Existing CH Election Schemes

In the cluster-based location service, CH acts as a location server. The CH

stores the location information of its CMs and sends location updates periodically to
RSU. The location updates from CM to CH and CH to RSU depend on the stability of
the CH. Furthermore, query success rate and query response delay directly relate with
the stability of the CH. In the existing literature, many CH election schemes are
proposed that depend on different parameters such as speed and direction, number of
neighbours, LLT and cluster formation range to enhance the lifetime of the CH. The
following subsections critically analyze those schemes that also include cluster
formation range and LLT as a CH election parameter.

2.4.1 Cluster Formation Range-based CH Election Schemes

The cluster formation range-based CH election schemes depend on two phases

to elect the CH. In the first phase, Cluster Head Election Range (CHER) is defined.
Then, a CH is elected from the vehicles in the range based on predefined criteria.

Aissaoui et al. (2015) divide the road into fixed segments, where each segment
defines a cluster. The vehicle with the minimum distance from the center of the
segment is elected as a CH. The CMs receive multiple cluster member affiliation
requests from the neighbouring CHs due to the overlapping communication range. The
collision and delay of messages increase. Moreover, a separate CH is elected for each
segment which leads to frequent CH changes.

The CH election cost increases due to considering large number of vehicles

(Singh and Bali, 2015). To enhance the stability and efficiency of the clustering
process, the number of vehicles participating in clustering are reduced by the electing
the cluster leadership first. The cluster leadership elected on the basis of number of
neighbours and aggregate relative velocity as given in the Equation 2.1.

50
 Ωi = δi − Vi (2.1)

where 𝛺𝑖 is the leadership election value of the vehicle i, 𝛿𝑖 is the number of

neighbours and 𝑉𝑖 is the relative velocity. Only those vehicles are elected as cluster
leaders whose value is greater than selection threshold. The CH election process starts
after the formation of the cluster leadership. Then, the leader whose Aggregate
Relative Velocity (ARV) is minimum is elected as a CH. The other leaders join the
cluster as a member. The vehicles having relative velocity and number of neighbours
below the threshold do not participate in the CH election process. The leadership is
selected before the CH election to improve the CH stability, however, leadership is
selected without defining the reference point and boundary for the participating
vehicles. Similarly, selection threshold is based on the fixed values. These issues affect
the leadership election process which in turn increases the cluster CH instability.

The CH election is based on the movement of the vehicles in lanes (Farooq et

al., 2016). The cluster formation range is defined by dividing the vehicles into three
groups on the basis of fast, medium and low speed lanes as shown in Figure 2.8. The
Cluster Threshold Value (CTV) of each lane is obtained using the Equations 2.2, 2.3
and 2.4. A CH is elected from each lane whose average speed is equal or nearest to
CTV ± Ʋ value.

Figure 2.8 Clustering Based on the Lanes

CTVs = Averagespeed (CSLs)= 30 ± Ʋ (2.2)

CTVm = Averagespeed (CSLm)= 75 ± Ʋ (2.3)

51
 CTVf = Averagespeed (CSLf)= 105 ± Ʋ (2.4)

where Cluster Speed Limit (CSLs) represents the speed limit of the slow speed cluster,
Ʋ is the speed adjustment factor whose value depends on application and varies from
1 to 10. The proposed VANET Cluster Scheme (VCS) has attempted to improve the
cluster stability by electing a separate CH for each lane. However, as the number of
clusters increases, clusters will start overlapping. As a result, the CMs will receive
messages from multiple CHs. Due to these issues, the stability of the clusters suffers
adversely.

The urban area is divided into different segments on the basis of the density
(Qureshi et al., 2018). Base Station (BS) defines the centroid of each segment. The CH
election depends on the minimum distance from the centroid, signal strength and
direction of the vehicles. Vehicles near to the centroid participate in the CH election
process. The CH stability is attempted to be improved by including a limited number
of vehicles, however, the CH Election Value (CHEV) is affected due to high density
and uncertain CHER.

The cluster formation range is based on the centroid (Pal et al., 2018). The
centroid is defined on the basis of the current position of the vehicles. The CH election
depends on the speed and distance from the centroid. The uniqueness of the centroid
is affected due to different number of vehicles in the neighbor table of each vehicle
which affects the cluster formation range.

2.4.2 Link Reliability-based CH Election Schemes

Link reliability is another important parameter used to elect the CH. This
parameter ensures the link reliability of the elected CH with its CMs and RSU. It
depends on parameters such as LLT, Power and signal strength to determine the quality
of the link. The following section critically analyzes the existing schemes that depend
on link reliability.

52
 The two-layer clustering is based on static CHs and Dynamic CHs as shown in
Figure 2.9 (Arkian et al., 2015). Each RSU is working as a static CH. The dynamic
CHs within the range of the static CHs become its CMs. The dynamic CH election is
based on suitability value that depends on Quality of Service (QoS) metric ɸv, and

mobility metric ⋀v as given in Equation 2.5, α and β are corresponding weighing

factors whose value varies between 0 and 1. The QoS metric is based on bandwidth,
neighbourhood degree and RSU link quality, whereas mobility metric is based on
relative speed, relative position and time to leave road segment. Every vehicle connects
with the RSU through its dynamic CH to get the traffic information and different
services.

𝛱 = 𝛼 . ɸ𝑣 + 𝛽 . ⋀𝑣 (2.5)

The vehicle having the highest suitability value Π is elected as a dynamic CH.
The cluster stability is improved by considering the mobility parameters and link status
with the RSU. The CHEV Π is a weighted sum of mobility and QoS parameters. The
CHEV does not confirm that a vehicle which is stable with respect to mobility
parameters also has reliable link with the RSU. The elected CH which is the most
stable vehicle in its neighbours may have poor link quality with the RSU. Likewise, a
vehicle having a high link quality and low stability may be elected as a CH. Moreover,
CH is elected without defining the CHER which affects the computation of the CHEV.

Figure 2.9 Two layers Clustering

53
 A Destination and Interest-aware clustering (DIAC) scheme proposed by
Ahmad et al. (2018) elects a vehicle as a CH which has highest Link Quality (LQ)
with the base station. The cluster formation is based on average relative speed
difference with other vehicles, position, direction, destination of vehicles and LQ. The
developed DIAC scheme has enhanced the cluster stability by considering the mobility
parameters and LQ with base station. However, the CH stability is compromised due
to undefined CHER and the Source Vehicle (SV) which may not be a stable vehicle to
complete the cluster formation process. Moreover, CHEV does not guarantee the link
reliability and stability with neighbours simultaneously.

To enhance the cluster stability, Alsuhli et al. (2019) has developed a Double
Head Clustering (DHC) scheme that is based on consistent neighbours, relative
position, relative speed, direction, average Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and average
Link Expiration Time. The proposed DHC scheme depends on consistent neighbours
to elect the CH. The consistent neighbours are those vehicles which are moving in the
same direction and have speed difference less than predefined ΔSmax , where the ΔSmax
≤ 21.6 km/h. The direction angle of vehicle i and j is calculated using equation 2.6
and 2.7 respectively. The angle between two vehicles is determined by the equation
2.8. The two vehicles are moving in the same direction if the angle between them is
𝜋
less than , otherwise vehicles are moving in the opposite direction.
2

𝑉𝑦𝑖 (2.6)
𝑑̂(𝑛𝑖 ) = arctan( )
𝑉𝑥𝑖

𝑉𝑦𝑗 (2.7)
𝑑̂(𝑛𝑗 ) = arctan( )
𝑉𝑥𝑗

𝜋
ɸ =𝑑̂(𝑛𝑗 ) − 𝑑̂ (𝑛𝑖 ) < (2.8)
2

where𝑑̂(𝑛𝑖 ) is the direction angle of the vehicle i and 𝑑̂ (𝑛𝑗 ) is the direction angle of
the vehicle j. ɸ is the angle between two vehicles. The eligibility value is calculated

54
 on the basis of weighted sum of relative position, relative speed, average SNR and
Link Expiration average LET. The LET is calculated using the Equation 2.9.
Time

𝑆𝐶𝐻𝑅 − 𝛥𝑑𝑖𝑗 ( 𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛(𝛥𝑆𝑖𝑗 )) (2.9)

𝐿𝐸𝑇𝑖𝑗 = ⍱ 𝑛𝑖𝑗 𝜀 𝐶𝑁𝑠
|𝛥𝑆𝑖𝑗 |

where 𝑆𝐶𝐻𝑅 is the service channel range, Δ𝑑ij the distance between vehicles i and j,
ΔSij is the speed difference between vehicles i and j and sign(.) is the sign function
whose value is 1 when node i is faster than j and -1 otherwise. The developed DHC
scheme has advantages of including important parameters in the CH election process
to enhance the CH lifetime. However, the CHEV computation is not based on
contribution of all vehicles in the range, on the contrary, it involves only those vehicles
whose speed difference is less than 21.6 km/h; in addition to that, eligibility does not
ensure that a vehicle which is stable also have high LET. Likewise, the eligibility value
does not base on the optimum values of weights. These issues affect the computation
of CHEV which degrades the performance of the CH stability in terms of low CH
lifetime.

The CH does not only communicate with the CMs, but also connects with the
BS or with other CHs for the exchange of the messages. The elected CH must have
excellent communication capability along with the minimum relative mobility with its
neighbours (Bi et al., 2020). In the developed Affinity Propagation Algorithm (APA),
the CH election depends on relative distance, relative velocity and Owned
Communication Rate (OCR). The OCR represents the maximum amount of data
transmitted through a channel in one second. The APA does not only consider the
mobility parameters but also regards the communication parameters to provide the
communication with the infrastructure. However, the OCR does not ensure a reliable
link with the RSU; a CH may have a high communication rate but very low link
lifetime with the RSU which leads to CH instability. Moreover, CH is elected without
defining the CHER.

55
 The CH stability is affected while ignoring the CHER and LLT. The following
schemes do not exploit the CHER and LLT to elect the CH. The CH stability is
discussed in the following sections.

Cambruzzi et al. (2016) enhance the CH stability by considering centrality and

average speed difference with other vehicles. The centrality of each vehicle is
calculated by measuring the distance from the farthest vehicle in forward and
backward directions. The CHEV is the weighted sum of centrality and average speed
difference. Vehicle with least CHEV is elected as CH. The CH election is based on the
centrality without defining the common cluster formation range. Similarly, the CH
election value is calculated without considering the effect of the direction of the
vehicles which leads to wrong values of the centrality.

A capability Metric (M) is defined to elect the CH. The metric depends on
Relative Velocity Metric (RVM), transmission Power Loss Metric (PLM) and
direction of the vehicles to compute the value of the M using the Equation 2.10 (Huo
et al., 2016).

𝑀(𝑖) = 𝑅𝑉𝑀(𝑖) + 𝑃𝐿𝑀(𝑖) (2.10)

The angle between the directions of vehicle i and j is determined using the
Equation 2.11. The vehicle i and j are moving in the same direction if the angle
between them ɸ ≤ п/4, otherwise, vehicles are moving in the opposite directions.

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝑖 . ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝑗 (2.11)
ɸi ,j = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗𝑖 ||𝐷𝑉
|𝐷𝑉 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗𝑗 |

where ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝑖 = 𝐷𝑉𝑖𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐷𝑉𝑖𝑦 𝑦 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝑗 = 𝐷𝑉𝑗𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐷𝑉𝑗𝑦 𝑦 are the direction vectors
of the vehicle i and vehicle j.

56
 The vehicle which has the smallest capability metric is elected as a CH. The
advantage of the proposed scheme is to consider the power loss metric along with
average relative velocity and direction to enhance the cluster stability. The capability
metric computation simply depends on the sum of RVM and PLM without assigning
weights. The Equation applies that a vehicle which is most stable may have more
transmission power loss; also, vehicle may have less transmission power loss but may
not be stable with respect to its neighbours. This factor does not ensure the optimum
value of the capability metric.

The dynamic CBLS scheme proposed by Asoudeh et al. (2017) attempt to

improve the CH stability by considering mobility parameters; however, CHEV is
influenced due to undefined cluster formation range and unreliable link with the
higher-level location server.

Ren et al. (2017a) use vehicle’s movement direction and relative position to
elect the CH. Every vehicle advertises its location at regular intervals through beacon
messages. The vehicle which is geographically at the center of its neighbours is elected
as CH as shown in Figure 2.10. The vehicles which are directly connected to CH are
considered as CMs. The length of the cluster is less than twice of CH’s communication
range. A “Safe Distance Threshold” represented by Dt is defined to reduce CM
disconnections which should be smaller than transmission range of the CH. The
vehicle which is stable with respect to its neighbours advertises itself as a CH. A
similar approach is proposed by Haider et al. (2020). The CH election in these schemes
is based on the simple concept of centrality without any extra communication overhead
involved during CH election process. The centrality of the vehicle is computed on the
basis of neighbours list. The uniqueness of the central vehicle is affected due to
different neighbour list of each vehicle. Moreover, CH election is based on position
without considering other parameters such relative speed, density and link status. Due
to these issues, cluster instability increases.

57
 Figure 2.10 CH Election Based on the Centre

Mehmood et al. (2017) rely on a number of parameters such as traffic weight,

vehicle density, connectivity level, speed and distance to elect a suitable vehicle as a
CH. The traffic flow is calculated by the number of vehicles in a lane divided by the
total number of vehicles in all lanes. Apart from the using important parameters to
elect a stable vehicle as a CH, instantaneous values of the distance and speed are used
in the CH election criteria while ignoring relative speed and distance with other
vehicles. Furthermore, the CHEV is affected because of the range of connectivity level
which is obtained in two levels. In the first level, it is obtained by considering
neighbours; in the second level, each neighbour calculates connectivity level with its
directly connected vehicles. Moreover, CH is elected without considering the reliable
link with the RSU.

Woo and Lee (2018) proposed location update and CM affiliation scheme to
enhance the performance of the location service. The CH election does not consider
mobility parameters, cluster formation range and reliability of the CH with higher-
level location servers. Due to ignoring important parameters, the CH instability
increases which degrades the performance of the location service.

CH election depends on the position, velocity, direction, number of nearby

vehicles and the reputation of each vehicle (Joshua et al., 2019). The proposed
Reputation-based Weighted Clustering Protocol (RWCP) enhances the CH lifetime by
including the reputation parameter which is defined as a number of times a vehicle is
elected as a CH. The vehicle which has good reputation has more chances to become
a CH. The CHEV depends on the weighted sum of position, velocity, number of nearby

58
vehicles and reputation such that w1 + w2+ w3+ w4 = 1, without mentioning specific
values of each weight. The CH election is performed without defining the cluster
formation range and reliable link with the RSU. The performance of the RWCP is
affected when it is implemented in the context of applications such as routing, security
and location service.

2.4.3 Remarks and Observation

In general, cluster-based location service schemes have the problem of the CH

instability. Although some schemes attempted to solve the CH instability issue by
defining CHER prior to the CH election, average speed difference with other vehicles,
LLT, number of neighbours and other similar parameters; however, certain limitations
still exist there which are highlighted in the following sections. The comparison of the
existing CH election schemes is given in Table 2.4.

In the static cluster-based location service, CHER is defined by the size of road
segment. The effective diameter of each vehicle is 800m. A separate CH is elected for
each segment. As the communication range of each CH is overlapped with its adjacent
CHs due to the mobility of the vehicles, so CHs receive multiple CM requests from
these overlapped segments. As a result, the collision and delay of location updates and
location queries increase. This causes the CH to change frequently. Similarly, the rate
of change of CH increases with the increase of speed.

In the existing dynamic cluster-based location service, different schemes are

proposed to define the CHER. A Centroid Vehicle (CV) is elected before the start of
CH election process. The CV is identified at the center of the vehicles. Then, the
vehicles in the range of CV defines the CHER. The CV is elected on the basis of
position of vehicles saved in the location table of each vehicle. However, each vehicle
may have different location table entries which affects the uniqueness of the CV.
Similarly, the vehicle which initiates the CH election process may not be stable in
terms of direction or distance or speed with reference to other vehicles. In some

59
studies, a leading vehicle starts the process of CH election which is already moving
with high speed but this does not ensure a stable CH election. In some studies, a vehicle
which does not receive beacon messages for a certain time, elects itself a CH without
considering the mobility parameters.

Asoudeh et al. (2017) every vehicle calculates its CHEV and broadcasts it to
neighbouring vehicles, which compare this value with their own CHEV. If the
received CHEV is better than its own CHEV, then it further broadcasted to its
neighbouring vehicles. This process continues until a vehicle which has optimum
CHEV is elected as a CH. The messages of the vehicles whose delay is more than
certain delay are discarded which leads to unreliable and incomplete CHEV.
Moreover, the elected CH also changes frequently. These issues arise due to undefined
clustering reference point and a reference vehicle. There is a need to define a reference
point and a stable vehicle that completes the process of election of CH election by
defining the CHER.

In VANETs, due to the high dynamicity, vehicles change their position

suddenly and frequently. The links between CH and RSU; and between CH and CMs
break frequently. To tackle this problem, the Link LifeTime (LLT) parameters is used
while electing a CH. Though LLT has enhanced the reliability of links between CH
and CMs, however, it has overlooked the link reliability between CH and higher-level
infrastructure such as RSU. Existing studies mentioned in section 2.4.2 has attempted
to improve the reliability of link between CH and RSU; yet there are still some
limitations due to the lack of reliable synchronization between CH and RSU; and CH
and CMs. There is a need to formulate the LLT that ensures the reliability of the links
between CH and RSU, and CH and CMs simultaneously.

60
 Table 2.4 Analysis of the CH Schemes
Reference CH Election Dynamicity Cluster Link Clustering Main issues causing CH instability
Parameters Formation Reliability Application
Range With RSU
Arkian et al. (2015) Mobility and Static, Yes Yes General Lack of synchronization between Mobility and QoS
QoS Dynamic parameters
Singh and Bali (2015) Aggregate Dynamic Leadership No General Undefined cluster formation range, No any link status
relative speed with RSU, fixed selection threshold values
Aissaoui et al. (2015) Distance Static Yes No Location Non-optimum cluster formation range, CH election
Service without mobility parameters, NO reliable link with
the RSU
Cambruzzi et al. (2016) Speed, central Dynamic No No General Undefined CFR, No link status with the RSU, Centrality
vehicle computer without direction
Farooq et al. (2016) Speed Dynamic Yes No General Large number of clusters, cluster overlapping, No link
status with the RSU
Huo et al. (2016) Velocity, dir, Dynamic No No General Undefined weights, Lack of synchronization between
power loss speed and power parameters
Asoudeh et al. (2017) Distance, dir, Dynamic No No Location Undefined CFR, CHEV without specific weights, no
speed, Service link status with the RSU
neighbor

61
Reference CH Election Dynamicity Cluster Link Clustering Main issues causing CH instability
Parameters Formation Reliability Application
Range With RSU
Qureshi et al. (2018) Distance, Static Yes No General Non-optimum CFR, CH election ignored mobility
signal parameters and link with the RSU
strength, dir
Pal et al. (2018) Speed, Dynamic Yes NO General Centroid centrality issue, no reliable link with the RSU
distance
Ahmad et al. (2018) Speed, LQ Dynamic No Yes General Undefined cluster formation range, unstable SV elects
position, dir, CH
destination
Joshua et al. (2019) Velocity, Dynamic No NO General Undefined CHEV weights, no reliable link with the
position, dir, RSU
neighbours,
reputation
Alsuhli et al. (2019) Speed, Dynamic Consistent Yes General CHEV without weights and CFR without including all
position, neighbours vehicles
direction,
Bi et al. (2020) SNR, CN, LET
Velocity, Dynamic No Yes, OCR General Undefined CFR, Lack of synchronization between
direction, OCR mobility and OCR

62
 2.5 Review of Existing Cluster Member Affiliation Schemes

The main objective of location service is to store the location of the vehicles in
VANETs. In the cluster-based location service, the CH stores the location of its CMs.
If the CM switches between different CHs or some of the vehicles could not affiliate to
any CH, then locations of the CMs are not updated to the location servers. In order to
improve the performance of the location service, the CM instability should be
minimized. This section analyzes the existing CM affiliation schemes and highlights the
existing issues.

2.5.1 Link Lifetime-based CM Affiliation Schemes

Link lifeTime (LLT) defines the reliability of link between vehicles. It depends
on communication range, speed, distance and time to determine the quality of the link.
High value of the LLT represents a reliable link between vehicles. The following
section reviews the existing LLT-based CM affiliation schemes.

The CM affiliation depends on Link LifeTime (LLT) with the CH, link delay
and number of loss messages (Cambruzzi et al., 2016). The CM Affiliation Value
(CMAV) is calculated using the Equation 2.12.

𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑉 = 𝑤1 . 𝑆 + 𝑤2 . 𝐹 + 𝑤3 . 𝐸 , | ∑𝑤𝑖 = 1 (2.12)

where S is the LLT with the CH, F represents link delay and E is the number of loss
messages. The value of the LLT is computed using the Equations 2.13, 2.14 and 2.15.

𝑟𝑖 − 𝑑(𝑖, 𝑗) (2.13)
S= , 𝑠𝑢𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡𝑜
𝑣𝑟

63
 | 𝑣𝑟 = |𝑣𝑖 − 𝑣𝑗 | 𝑖𝑓 |𝑣𝑖 − 𝑣𝑗 | ≥ 1 (2.14)

𝑣𝑟 = 1 𝑖𝑓 |𝑣𝑖 − 𝑣𝑗 | < 1 (2.15)

where S is LLT between the vehicle and the CH, ri is the communication range,
d (i, j) is the distance between the vehicle and the CH, vr is the relative speed difference
between the vehicle and the CH. The CM stability is improved by considering LLT
parameter. However, CMAV depends on the instantaneous values of the speed, also
CMAV relies on the fixed threshold values without considering the variables involved
such as location update intervals.

Every vehicle calculates its capability metric M that depends on relative speed,
power and direction, and sends CM requests to the existing CH (Huo et al., 2016). If
the capability metric M of new joining CM is less than the value of the existing CH,
then the CM joins the cluster as a CH. The CH election process is triggered on the
joining of new CM. Isolated vehicles are reduced due to CM affiliation scheme.
However, the existing CH is not stable which results in frequent switching of CMs
between different CHs. Moreover, when there are more than one CHs, CM joins the
new cluster on the basis of LLT. The CM instability increases due to instantaneous
values of the speed while calculating the LLT.

The proposed MoGLS scheme improves the CM stability by considering the

link reliability with the CH (Woo & Lee, 2018). Every vehicle calculates its sojourn
time (it is the time that a vehicle remains in the range of the CH for which it is
responsible) and compares it with the CM threshold value. If the value of the sojourn
time is larger than CM threshold value, the vehicle will join the cluster. The sojourn
time depends on the instantaneous values of the distance and speed of vehicles.
Likewise, the sojourn time is compared with the fixed threshold value.

The LLT parameter has improved the performance of the CM affiliation

schemes as compared to the following schemes that depend on the distance, speed and

64
 direction of the CH to affiliate with the cluster. The CM lifetime of these schemes is
affected due to the dependence on the instantaneous values of the distance and speed.

The vehicle that are currently inside the segment are considered as CMs
(Aissaoui et al., 2015). The CM affiliation depends on the distance of each vehicle from
the CH. The advantage of the proposed scheme is that the vehicles are affiliated with
the CH without any extra exchange of the messages. However, the CM affiliation
ignores the mobility parameters, also vehicles are getting multiple CM requests from
neighbouring CHs which increases the CM instability.

The cluster joining relies on the speed difference with the CH (Arkian et al.,
2015). When a CH receives a CM affiliation request, it compares the speed difference
with a predefined threshold value. If the speed of the vehicle satisfies the Equation 2.16,
the CH will accept the request.

|𝑉𝑖 − 𝑉𝑐ℎ | ≤ 𝛥𝑆𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑠ℎ (2.16)

where Vi is speed of the vehicle i and 𝑉𝑐ℎ is the speed of the CH and 𝛥𝑆𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑠ℎ is the
CM affiliation threshold value. The vehicles depend on the instantaneous value of the
speed of CH which does not ensure the stable affiliation with the cluster. Along with
this, the isolated vehicles also increase due to fixed threshold values.

The CM affiliation depends on the speed difference with the CH. Vehicles
calculate their speed difference based onto the instantaneous values of the speed of the
CH (Asoudeh et al., 2017). The CM affiliation threshold value is defined as 18 km/h
with the maximum limit of the CMs as 20. The lifetime of a CM in a cluster decreases
along with the increase in the number of isolated vehicles in the network which is the
main cause of the CM instability.

The CM affiliation is enhanced by optimizing the CM threshold value,

(Mehmood et al., 2017). The CH affiliates the vehicle if it is moving in the same

65
direction as a CH and if its speed difference with the CH lies within the range ∓Vth
also as given in the Equation 2.17.
|𝑉𝑗 − 𝑉𝑐ℎ | ≤ ±𝑉𝑡ℎ (2.17)

where |𝑉𝑗 − 𝑉𝑐ℎ | is the speed difference and ±𝑉𝑡ℎ is the CM affiliation threshold
value. The performance of the proposed scheme is improved by reducing the isolated
vehicles due to flexibility of CM affiliation threshold value, however, CM instability
is affected due to reliance on the instantaneous values. Moreover, CM affiliation
criteria is based without the reliable link with the CH.

Haider et al. (2020), the cluster joining depends on the direction and distance
from the CH. When there are more than one CHs, the vehicle joins that CH which is
moving in the same direction and has less distance. If there is no neighbouring CH, the
vehicle elect itself as a CH. The proposed scheme has reduced the isolated vehicles by
simplifying the CM affiliation which only depends on distance and direction. As the,
the CM affiliation depends on the instantaneous speed of the CH and also ignores the
link status with the CH, as a result, the lifetime of the CM in a cluster reduces, which
reduce the cluster stability.

2.5.2 Remarks and Observations

On the basis of the aforementioned studies, it is observed that CM affiliations

depend on two values to affiliate with a cluster which can be described as given in
Equation 2.18.

𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 (≥ 𝑜𝑟 <) 𝑃𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡 (2.18)

where parameter may be distance, speed, LLT or any other similar value and parameter
limit is the CM affiliation threshold value to affiliate the vehicles with the cluster. In
the simplest CM affiliations, vehicles depend on the distance between the vehicle and
the CH. The distance parameter is not a reliable parameter to affiliate the vehicles due
to mobility characteristics of the vehicles as the vehicles move frequently and
suddenly. Additionally, the communication range of each vehicle is 400m. When the

66
distance between CH and vehicles is greater than 400, the vehicles cannot update their
location information to CH.

In some of the existing studies, speed is used as a CM affiliation parameter.

Although this parameter is more reliable as compared to the distance parameter due to
dependence on speed. The speed of the vehicle is synchronized with the speed of CH
to enhance the lifetime of the cluster member in a cluster. However, due to high
dynamicity of vehicles, instantaneous values of the speed does not ensure a reliable
CM affiliation.

More reliable CM affiliation depends on LLT or sojourn time which is defined

in terms of speed, distance and time to affiliate the vehicles as CM. This parameter
defines the expected lifetime of a vehicle in the range of existing CH. The reliability
of this parameter is increased due to the combination of speed, distance and time.

All these three types of parameters depend on the instantaneous speed of the
vehicles and CH to formulate the CM affiliation scheme. Due to high dynamic
characteristics of VANETs, these instantaneous values do not ensure a reliable and
stable CM affiliation. Vehicles join and leave the cluster frequently due to which, the
lifetime of each CM in a cluster reduces. Similarly, the location updates and location
queries are suffered due to high switching of CMs in different clusters.

The parameter limit, also called CM affiliation threshold value, depends on

fixed values. Due to fixed values, some of the vehicles cannot join any cluster and
remain isolated vehicles. The location of these vehicles are not updated to any cluster.
The performance of the location service degrades in terms of query success rate, query
response delay and localization error.

From the aforementioned discussion, it is concluded that there is a need to

enhance the existing CM affiliation schemes in terms of the reliability of LLT and CM
affiliation threshold values to reduce the frequent CMs changes and isolated vehicles
in the network. The comparison of the existing CM affiliation schemes is given in the
Table 2.5.

67
 Table 2.5 Analysis of the CM Affiliation Schemes
Reference CM Affiliation Link CM Clustering Main issues causing CM instability
Parameters Reliability Affiliation Application
with CH Threshold
Aissaoui et al. (2015) Distance No Values
Not fixed Location CM switches between different CHs, No reliable link with the
service CH
Arkian et al. (2015) Speed No Fixed General CM affiliation depends on the instantaneous values, fixed
threshold value, no reliable link with the CH, isolated vehicles
Cambruzzi et al. (2016) Distance, speed, Yes Fixed General The link reliability is based on instantaneous values of the CH,
delay, messages Also threshold values based on fixed values, isolated vehicles
Huo et al. (2016) loss
Speed, direction, No Not fixed General CM lifetime in a cluster reduces due to instantaneous speeds
power and frequent switching,
Asoudeh et al. (2017) Speed No Fixed Location CM instability due to frequent switching between CHs and
Mehmood et al. (2017) Speed No Fixed service
General isolated
CM vehicles.
lifetime is reduced due instantaneous speed, unreliable link
clustering with the CH, isolated vehicles increases
Woo and Lee (2018) Speed, distance, Yes Fixed Location Due to non-optimum values of speed, fixed values, CM change
time service CHs frequently,
Haider et al. (2020) Distance, direction NO Fixed General Unreliable link with the CH, fixed threshold values,
clustering dependence on instantaneous speed of the CH, the isolated
vehicles increases.

68
 2.6 Review of Existing Cluster Maintenance Schemes

The stability of the cluster is affected due to the occurrence of different events
such as CM losing its affiliation with the CH, the decreasing stability of the CH,
existence of a number of clusters within communication range and disbanded cluster.
The cluster maintenance retains the cluster stability by developing algorithms
accordingly. The following section critically analyzes the existing cluster maintenance
schemes in terms of clustering merging and cluster splitting.

2.6.1 Cluster Merging Algorithms

The rapid topology changes cause frequent breakdowns in communication

links and the formation of small clusters with only one or a few vehicles. The
scalability and the efficiency of VANETs reduce with the increase in the number of
clusters (Senouci et al., 2019b; Ahwazi and NooriMehr, 2016). The main objectives
of the cluster merging are to improve the cluster stability and to reduce delays, disputes
in the physical environment, number of messages between CHs and roadside
infrastructure during the data updating. The use of network resources can be reduced
by integrating neighbor clusters (Ji et al., 2018; Liu et al., 2017). It is to be observed
that, to reduce the number of re-clustering, instead of starting the re-clustering process
immediately, the merging process is delayed until several broadcast intervals.
Therefore, the number of re-clustering is minimized and the CH lifetime is improved
(Regin and Menakadevi, 2019). The main objective of the cluster merging is to
combine different clusters to improve the cluster stability. Different schemes have
been proposed to merge the clusters. The following section reviews the existing cluster
merging schemes.

Arkian et al. (2015) depend on range, relative speed and number of beacon
message intervals to merge the cluster. Cluster stability is improved by including
important parameters, however, the merging stability can be further enhanced by
defining the specific number of interval in Merging Threshold Time (MTT) and
electing a new CH based on the reliable link with the RSU. Due to unpredictable

69
vehicular mobility, the merging CHs may approach each other or may move away
during the MTT, subsequently, the existing MTT does not ensure a stable merging.

Cluster merging starts when all the members of one cluster are in the range of
another CH and total number of CMs are less than predefined threshold value
(Cambruzzi et al., 2016). The merging is initiated when distance between CMs and
CH of other cluster is less than the communication range. However, cluster merging is
not stable due to undefined MTT and CH of the merged cluster.

Density-based cluster merging simply depends on the number of CMs in a

cluster to initiate the merging process (Huo et al., 2016). The CH which has lowest
capability metric M is elected as the CH of the merged cluster. The merging process
is simplified without taking into account the basic merging conditions such as
overlapping range, the distance between two CHs, and MTT. These issues lead to
instable cluster merging.

Lin et al. (2016) merging depends on the distance between two overlapping
clusters and the duration in which two clusters remain in the range of each other. When
the distance between two moving clusters is half of the communication range and MTT
is equal to the interval of two messages, the merging starts. The vehicle which is at the
middle of the two merged clusters is elected as a new CH. The merging stability is
improved by considering merging conditions, however, during MTT merging clusters
may move away from each other which causes instantaneous merging. Likewise, CH
is elected without considering the link reliability with the RSU.

If two clusters remain in the range of each other for the duration of 10 seconds,
the merging process starts (Ren et al., 2017a). The MTT is 10 seconds to avoid the
temporary merging, however, this value is fixed and ignored the involving variables
such as beacon messages intervals. In addition, the new CH is elected without
considering the link reliability with the RSU.

70
 The MoGLS scheme depends on the distance between two CHs, sojourn time
and MTT. If the sojourn time of the original cluster is greater than or equal to the target
cluster and distance between two CHs is less than 100m up to the duration of the
location update interval, then the cluster merging starts. Although existing study
includes the sojourn time to enhance the cluster stability, however, limitations are still
there due to fixed CM threshold value, ignoring the link reliability while electing the
CH (Woo & Lee, 2018).

All CMs interest based merging depends on the range, interest, number of CMs
after merging and the eligibility of the merged CH (Alsuhli et al., 2019). The two
moving clusters merged subject to the conditions; all the members of the existing cluster
are consistent with the target CH, the total number of CMs after the merging are less
than the maximum limit and the target CH is more stable than the current CH. However,
merging ignores the MTT and link status with the RSU while merging the clusters which
increases the cluster instability.

Haider et al. (2020) depend on the direction and overlapping range of two
clusters. The clusters which are moving in the same direction and are in the range of
each other start the merging without considering MTT. The merging of two clusters is
not reliable in the absence of MTT. Furthermore, the CH is elected without considering
the link reliability with the RSU. The analysis of the cluster merging schemes is
presented in the Table 2.6.

71
 Table 2.6 Analysis of the Cluster Merging Schemes
Reference Overlapping Merging New CH Main issues causing cluster maintenance instability
Range Threshold of the
Time(MTT) Merged
Cluster
Arkian et al. (2015) Yes Yes Yes Undefined beacon messages interval, unreliable link with the
RSU
Cambruzzi et al. (2016) Yes Not Not Cluster instability increases due to undefined MTT and CH of
the merged cluster
Huo et al. (2016) Not Not Yes Overlooked overlapping range and MTT and CH is elected
without reliable link with the RSU.
Lin et al. (2016) Yes Yes Yes Non-optimum MTT, the median vehicle is elected as a new CH
without the link status with the RSU and mobility parameters
Ren et al. (2017a) Yes Yes Yes Fixed MTT and unreliable link with the RSU

Woo and Lee (2018) Yes Yes Yes Non-optimum MTT, CH election without considering link
status with the RSU
Alsuhli et al. (2019) Yes Not Yes Without MTT and overlapping distance, unreliable link with
the RSU
Haider et al. (2020) Yes Not Yes Without MTT, CH is elected without the link status with the
RSU

72
 2.6.2 Cluster Splitting Algorithms

The main objective of the cluster splitting is to divide the existing cluster into
two or more clusters to maintain the cluster stability. The cluster stability is
compromised due to increased size of the cluster beyond the maximum limit, and
increased density within the defined range (Huo et al., 2016). In addition, due to
different speeds, a vehicle or a group of vehicles goes out of the range of their respective
CHs. In such a scenario, the cluster splits up into more than one clusters (Haider et al.,
2020). Moreover, around the intersection, existing CH moves only in one direction. The
distance between CH and its CMs moving in the other directions increases beyond the
default range. The existing CH initiates the process of the election of the new CHs based
on the predefined cluster splitting algorithm. After splitting, the new CHs send CM
requests to affiliate the vehicles to the clusters. Through the splitting, the average size
of the cluster and issues such as collision and messages loss are reduced.

In the cluster maintenance phase of the Cluster Head Electing in Advance

Mechanism (CHEAM), every CM elects the most stable CH in advance on the basis of
the expected stay time and direction (Huo et al., 2016). The existing CHEAM focused
on affiliating undecided vehicles in the intersection scenario. However, there are still
limitations in terms of CH election for split clusters. The cluster instability increases due
to the divergence of the vehicle flow.

Zhao et al. (2016) an intersection based clustering algorithm splits the vehicles
into different directions around the intersection as shown in Figure 2.11. The CH
election is based on two algorithms. The CH election in the straight road depends on
speed and distance parameters, while around the intersection direction parameter is used
to manage the vehicles into clusters.

73
 Figure 2.11 Cluster Splitting Around the Intersection

In the proposed Intersection-based Clustering (IC) algorithm, when the

distance between center of the intersection and vehicles is less than 2R, where R is the
transmission range, vehicles are considered around the intersection. It is supposed that
each vehicle knows its direction before turning. The proposed scheme managed the
vehicles into different directions based on the direction of the vehicles. However, there
are still some limitations when vehicles enter into the intersection area, the existing
cluster splits into three sub-clusters on the basis of left, right and straight direction,
including the existing stable cluster. These vehicles again re-clustered using speed and
distance metric when crosses the intersection boundary. The cluster instability
increases due to unnecessary clustering around the intersection. The CMs switches to
a new CH after entering the intersection area and again affiliates to the new CH after
leaving the intersection area. Moreover, existing stable CH switches to CM after
entering the intersection area. The frequent change of CHs and CMs reduces the
lifetime of each vehicle in a cluster. Besides this, the CH election is not based on the
reliable link with the RSU which affect the CH communication with the RSU. Due to
these issues, the cluster instability around the intersection increases which degrades
the performance of the location service.

Zhou et al. (2017) reduced the clustering around the intersection by electing a
CH. In the proposed Novel Vehicle Clustering (NVC) algorithm, each CH sends its
CMs information to the Base Station (BS) which is acting as a local server as shown
in Figure 2.12. The BS elects the candidate CHs from each road section based on the

74
 highest number of vehicles. Then a vehicle which has the lowest weight is elected as
a CH. The weight is based on the relative position between vehicles and the relative
distance from the vehicle to the BS. The CH election is based on number of neighbours
and distance, without considering the speed. Only one CH has to manage the whole
intersection traffic. Traffic is moving in different directions but the elected CH can
move only in one direction. When the distance between CH and vehicles of other road
sections increases beyond the communication range, the vehicles will lose their
affiliations; as a result, their locations are not updated to the CH. Due to this, the query
success rate decreases.

Figure 2.12 CH Election Around the Intersection

Mehmood et al. (2017) divides the traffic into left, right and straight lanes.
Cumulative weight is calculated using density, connectivity level, and distance and
speed parameters. The core parameter is connectivity level which is number of vehicles
in a specific lane. The CH is elected from the lane which has large number of vehicles
as shown in Figure 2.13. The existing study tries to elect the CH on the basis of number
of vehicles in a lane to affiliate more vehicles, to reduce CM instability around the
intersection. However, existing CH can move only in one direction, leaving the vehicles
of other directions without any CH, due to these issues the cluster instability increases.

75
 Figure 2.13 Lane Based CH Election

Woo and Lee (2018), the CM affiliation scheme exploits the intersection to
calculate the sojourn time. Dynamic clusters are formed on the basis of similar
trajectory. To join a cluster, every vehicle calculates its sojourn time P that depends
on the position of the vehicle at the approaching intersection. However, existing study
ignores the cluster splitting issue around the intersection which causes the cluster
instability around the intersection.

The destination based cluster formation Ali et al. (2019), depends on the speed,
distance, direction and interest to elect a CH. After receiving the CM affiliation
requests from the vehicle, the CH confirms the destination and direction of the vehicle
before accepting the request. The cluster stability is improved by including the
destination parameters, however, CH election is overlooked around the intersection.

According to the aforementioned information, existing studies have tried to

manage the vehicles around the intersection, but some limitations still exist here such
as unnecessary clustering around the intersection, destabilization of the existing cluster
and CH election without reliable link with the RSU. Because of non-optimum merging
condition such as overlapping distance and MTT, the cluster instability increases due
to which the location updates and location queries are affected. The critical analysis of
these studies are highlighted in the Table 2.6.

76
2.6.3 Remarks and Observations

The stable cluster merging depends on the optimum merging conditions such
as overlapping range, Merging Threshold Time (MTT), the duration of the overlapping
range before the start of the merging, and election of the CH for the merged cluster.

Table 2.5 compares the existing cluster merging algorithms in terms of

overlapping range, MTT and CH for the merged cluster. According to the
aforementioned cluster merging schemes, if the clusters remain in the range of each
other up to MTT, the merging process starts. During MTT, the merging clusters may
move towards each other or away from each other while staying in the range of each
other. After the expiry of MTT, the merging process starts and completes. However,
this merging is not stable due to the movement of clusters away from each other which
leads to CH and CMs instability. There is need to impose a check to confirm the
distance between CHs at the start of the MTT and end of the MTT to ensure a stable
merging. Furthermore, the MTT depends on the fixed value or on the beacon message
intervals. There is need to enhance the MTT while considering the update intervals of
merging clusters. Moreover, the CH is nominated without considering the reliable link
with the RSU. Therefore, these issues do not ensure a stable cluster merging which
increases the cluster instability.

Table 2.7 critically analyzes the existing cluster splitting algorithms. The
existing studies split the cluster to maintain the cluster stability around the intersection.
However, limitation still exists due to unnecessary clustering after vehicles enter the
intersection area and reclustering after vehicles leave the interstation area. Even, the
existing stable cluster is reclustered, similarly, in the existing studies, the link
reliability with the RSU is ignored, while electing the new CH. Due to these issues,
cluster instability around the intersection increases. Therefore, an optimized cluster
merging is needed to be designed to enhance the cluster stability.

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 Table 2.7 Analysis of the Cluster Splitting Schemes
Scheme CH Election: CH Election: Main issues causing cluster maintenance instability
Intersection Area Straight Road

Huo et al. (2016) Direction, stay time Speed, power No Cluster splitting, CH instability around the intersection

Zhao et al. (2016) Direction Distance, speed Cluster instability due to twice clustering around the
intersection, CH election ignores the link status with the RSU.
Even existing stable cluster is dispersed
Zhou et al. (2017) Distance, No CH election CH election without mobility parameters and link with the
neighbours RSU, cluster instability increases due to only one CH for the
whole intersection. Existing stable clusters are destabilized
Mehmood et al. (2017) Without CH Density, CL, NO cluster splitting around the intersection
election distance speed
Woo and Lee (2018) Beacon messages Without CH No cluster splitting around the intersection
election
Ali et al. (2019) Without CH Distance, speed No cluster splitting around the intersection
election

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 2.7 Findings of the Literature Review

As described in section 2.4.3, in the most of the existing studies, the CH is

elected without defining the CH election range. Therefore, some existing studies
define the range prior to the election of the CH. These existing schemes have limitation
in terms of the source vehicle that invokes the CH election process, the reference point
for the range and the uniqueness of the centroid vehicle, overlapping range between
two clusters and undefined range. These issues do not ensure a reliable computation
of a CHEV, which result in unstable CH election.

Furthermore, one of main function in cluster-based location service is to update

the location information of vehicles to a higher-level server. Every CH updates the
location information of its CMs to RSU. It is observed that majority of the existing CH
election schemes are based on the reliable link with other vehicles, ignoring the link
reliability with the RSU. While very few CH election schemes consider the reliability
with the RSU. However, these existing schemes do not ensure the CH stability from
both aspects: stability with respect to other vehicles and stability with respect to RSU.
It is observed even if the CH is stable with respect to vehicles still it is unstable with
reference to the RSU. Due to instability with the RSU, the location updates and
location queries are negatively affected. Therefore, a reliable cluster head election
scheme should be designed to reduce the CH instability.

The stability of the CH is measured by CH lifetime. The stability of the cluster

directly depends on the CH lifetime, which is expressed in seconds. The CH lifetime
is measured based on different scenarios that depends on density, speed, simulation
area, simulation time and other parameters. The average CH lifetime of HCBLS
depends on fixed size partitions. The average CH lifetime of the CH decreases with
the increase of the speed. The average CH lifetime of HCBLS varies from 100 seconds
to 120 seconds based on the given scenario. The average CH lifetime of CBLS shows
better performance due to dynamic clustering and varies from 125 seconds 150
seconds for the given scenario. The CH lifetime of HCBLS is affected due to fixed
size partitions, because the lifetime of a CH is limited to fixed size region. The lifetime
of CBLS is improved due to dynamic clustering, but affected due to depending on

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broadcast approach and undefined range. The CH lifetime can be improved by defining
the cluster formation range and increasing the link reliability with the RSU.

As described in section 2.5.2, the CM is the vehicle whose position is stored in

the location servers. The performance of the location service directly depends on the
availability of the location information in location servers which is maximized through
the CM affiliation schemes. The existing CM affiliation schemes are based on the
instantaneous values of the distance and speed. Due to frequent and sudden topology
changes in VANETs, these instantaneous values do not ensure a reliable CM affiliation
with the CH. The CMs join and leave clusters frequently due to unstable CM
affiliation.

At the same time, the CM affiliation threshold values are fixed without
considering the metric involved such as CM to CH and CH to RSU location update
intervals. Due to fixed threshold value, some of the vehicles do not affiliate to any
cluster. As a result, the isolated vehicles in the network increases. Due to the unstable
CM affiliation, the CM change the clusters frequently and number of cluster changes
per vehicle also increases. Therefore, a dynamic cumulative cluster member affiliation
scheme should be designed to reduce the CM instability.

The stability of the CM depends on the lifetime of a CM in a cluster. The higher

value of the lifetime represents that CM remains affiliated with a cluster for a longer
time. The CM is the vehicle whose position is updated to the CH. Also, when a CM
needs the position of another CM, it sends a query to its respective CH. The stability
of the CM enhances the location updates and location queries, which improve the
performance of the location service. In the HCBLS, the CM lifetime increase of speed,
however it is limited to fixed size partition. The CM lifetime varies from 90 seconds
to 120 seconds. The CM lifetime in CBLS improves, but it is limited to 140 seconds.
The CM lifetime in MoGLS shows better result due to reliable link with the CH and
varies from 120 seconds to 140 seconds. These results are obtained for each scheme
based on the given scenarios. In the HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS CM lifetime is
affected due to instantaneous speeds and fixed CM affiliation threshold values. In the

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cluster based location service, the location updates and location queries are affected
due to the instability of the CM.

As discussed in the section 2.6.3, the inefficient cluster maintenance also

increases the cluster instability. The non-optimum cluster merging conditions due to
merging threshold time, distance between overlapping CHs and unnecessary clustering
decrease the CH lifetime and M lifetime. The non-optimal cluster merging and cluster
splitting lead to unreliable cluster merging and cluster splitting. The number of
communication messages during cluster maintenance increases which causes the
collision and delay of messages. The location updates are affected. The query success
rate decreases, query response delay and localization error increases.

Furthermore, the cluster splitting divides the existing clusters into two or more
clusters to maintain the cluster stability. Around the intersection area, the existing
cluster disperses due to the movement of the vehicles into different directions. The
existing studies split the cluster to maintain the cluster stability around the intersection.
However, limitation still exists due to unnecessary clustering after vehicles enter the
intersection area and reclustering after vehicles leave the interstation area. Even, the
existing stable cluster is reclustered. Similarly, in the existing studies, the link
reliability with the RSU is ignored while electing the new CH. Due to these issues,
cluster instability around the intersection increases. Therefore, an optimized cluster
merging needs to be designed to enhance the cluster stability.

To address the aforementioned limitations, this research focuses on the

development of an enhanced stability of cluster-based location service mechanism for
urban vehicular ad hoc networks.

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 2.8 Summary

This chapter presented a comprehensive literature review of the clustering

schemes in VANETs, location service in VANETs and cluster-based location service
schemes in VANETs. The existing clustering schemes were critically analyzed from
three aspects such as CH election, CM affiliation and cluster maintenance to highlight
the limitations and shortcomings. The comparison table at the end of each section
highlighted the main issues. While the section 2.7 summarized the outcome of this
chapter and exhibited the significance of research objectives. In addition, this chapter
elaborated the concepts and foundations required to design and implement the
proposed schemes in subsequent chapters. Therefore, to overcome the limitations of
existing work, this research focused on development of an enhanced stability of
cluster-based location service mechanism for urban vehicular ad hoc networks which
enhances the performance of the location service.

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 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the research methodology that is assumed as a

foundation step to provide a road map to achieve the research objectives. In particular,
the focus of this chapter is on the operational framework which consists of three main
parts, i.e. the literature analysis, the research design and the simulation setup. In the
literature analysis, a wide and deep review of the existing studies related to location
service is provided while highlighting the issues linked to the cluster instability. In the
research design, the development of three proposed schemes is elaborated. Finally, in
the simulation setup, a detailed elaboration of the metrics, parameters, values, and
simulators used in the simulation and evaluation process of the proposed solutions is
provided. Section 3.2 particularly highlights the operational framework. Afterword,
section 3.3 elaborates the research design and procedures. Section 3.4 describes the
utilized simulation framework. Sections 3.5, 3.6 and 3.7 describe the proposed network
model, simulation setup and performance evaluation metrics, respectively. Finally, the
conclusion of this chapter is presented in section 3.8.

3.2 Operational Framework

This research work is framed into three major stages as shown in Figure 3.1.
The first stage comprises of thorough review and analysis of the available literature
about location service, cluster-based location service, clustering in VANETs, Cluster
Head (CH) election, Cluster Member (CM) affiliation, and cluster maintenance
schemes in VANETs. Afterwards, development stage includes three phases. In the first
phase, a Reliable Cluster Head Election (RCHE) scheme is developed to improve the
CH stability. The output of this scheme is elected CH.

83
 Figure 3.1 Operational Framework

The second phase leads to the development of Dynamic Cumulative Cluster

Member Affiliation (DCCMA) scheme that enhance the CM stability by using
Cumulative Moving Average Speed (CMAS) and dynamic CM affiliation threshold
values. The output of this phase is the stable CM. The third phase aims at developing
an Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM) scheme for improving the cluster stability
though optimizing cluster merging and cluster splitting algorithms. Finally, the last
stage, presents the performance evaluation of the proposed schemes in terms of CH
lifetime, CM lifetime, query success rate, query response delay, localization error and
fraction of location information saved in the location servers.

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3.3 Research Design and Procedure

This section presents the concepts to design and develop RCHE, DCCMA and
OCM schemes. Figure 3.2 illustrates the interaction among the three phases which
jointly contribute to the development of the proposed ESCLS mechanism. Table 3.1
shows the overall research plan for each phase.

3.3.1 Reliable Cluster Head Election Scheme

The cluster-based location service mainly depends on the stability of the CH.
Existing studies try to improve the performance of location service by improving the
CH election criteria, but limitations still exist due to the non-optimal cluster formation
range and unreliable link of CH with the RSU. In order to improve the lifetime of a
CH, appropriate mobility parameters including distance, speed, RLT, direction, and
number of neighbours are considered. The proposed RCHE scheme consists of three
phases such as, Centroid Vehicle (CV) election, formation of Cluster Head Election
Range (CHER) and election of the CH. In the CV election phase, each vehicle
calculates its distance from the centroid. The vehicle nearest to the centroid is elected
as a CV. In the second phase, all vehicles whose distance from the CV is less than 400
defines the CHER. Furthermore, a CH is elected from the vehicles in the CHEV range
based on the Variability Index (VI), RSU Link Time (RLT) with the RSU and number
of neighbours. The Cluster Head Election Value (CHEV) is the weighted sum of the
VI, RLT and number of neighbours. The vehicle which has the largest CHEV is elected
as a CH. The overall procedure and results analysis of the RCHE scheme is described
in detail in chapter 4. Figure 3.3 illustrates the block diagram of the design and
implementation of the RCHE scheme.

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 Cluster head election value

IV Isolated vehicle
CHLT Cluster Head Link Lifetime

RSU Road side unit

RLT RSU
Link Lifetime

Enhanced Stability of Cluster-based

Location Service

Figure 3.2 Research Framework

86
 Figure 3.3 Design, Implementation and Evaluation of RCHE Scheme

3.3.2 Dynamic Cumulative Custer Member Affiliation Scheme

The primary entity in the location service is a vehicle whose location is

maintained by the location service. The performance of the location service relies on
the stability of the CM in a cluster. Existing studies attempt to enhance the lifetime of
a CM in the cluster but limitations still exist due to the unreliable link between CMs
and CH due to instantaneous values of the speed and fixed CM affiliation threshold
values. In the proposed, DCCMA scheme, every vehicle gets the information about

87
 Table 3.1 Overall Research Plan
Proposal Research Objectives Research Research Methodology Performance Result
Phase Matter Questions Metrics Validation

To develop a reliable CH CH How to improve the (a) Elect a Centroid Vehicle. CH lifetime,
election scheme that reduces election process of electing (b) Define the Cluster Head Election Query success
Phase 1 the frequent CH changes and a CH in order to Range rate, HCBLS,
enhances the link reliability enhance the CH (c) Every vehicle compute its CHEV Query response CBLS
with the RSU to improve the stability? based on VI, RLT and Nnbr delay
CH stability. (d) A vehicle whose CHEV is largest is
elected as a CH
To enhance a CM affiliation CM How to enhance the a) IVs sense CM requests from the CH CM lifetime,
scheme that reduces the affiliation process of b) IVs compute their CHLT for each CH Query success
frequent CM changes and affiliating a vehicle c) CH affiliates the vehicles as a CM rate, Fraction of CBLS,
Phase 2 isolated vehicles to enhance in order to improve based on the comparison of the CHLT location MoGLS
the CM stability. the CM stability? with CM affiliation threshold values information
saved in the
location servers
To optimize a cluster Cluster How to enhance the a) Merging initiates subject to the Query success
maintenance scheme to maintenance process and fulfilment of the merging conditions (b) rate,
Phase 3 stabilize the cluster merging conditions of New CHs are elected based on RLT Query response HCBLS
and cluster splitting to cluster maintenance (c) Specifying the intersection area. (b) delay, CBLS,
improve the cluster stability. to improve cluster New CHs are elected based on highest localization error MoGLS
stability? RLT and destination. (c) CM affiliates

88
other vehicles through beacon messages. Vehicles sense the CM requests from the
neighbouring CH and start the CM affiliation process. Figure 3.4 elaborates the block
diagram of the design and implementation of the DCCMA scheme. Every vehicle
calculates its CH Link LifeTime (CHLT) that is based on Cumulative Moving Average
Speed (CMAS) instead of the instantaneous speed of the vehicles. Vehicle sends that
value to CH. The CH compares RLT value with the dynamic threshold value that
depends on location updates intervals from vehicle to CH and from CH to RSU. If the
value of the CHLT is greater than threshold value, CH affiliates the vehicle as a CM
and updates its location information to nearest RSU.

Figure 3.4 Design, Implementation and Evaluation of DCCMA Scheme

89
If there are more than one CHs in neighbouring area, then the vehicle sends the CM
request to CH which has higher CHLT value. Moreover, if there is no neighbouring
CH or CHLT is less than the CM affiliation threshold value, then vehicle sends its
location information directly to the RSU. The overall procedure and result analysis of
the DCCMA scheme is described in detail in chapter 5.

3.3.3 Optimized Cluster Maintenance Scheme

The OCM scheme is based on cluster merging and cluster splitting. Due to the
high dynamicity of the VANETs, there is always a possibility that more than one
clusters co-exist in neighbouring area. Existing studies attempt to increase the cluster
stability through enhancing the cluster merging algorithm, however, issues still exist
due to non-optimal merging conditions. The performance of the location service is
improved through optimizing cluster merging. In the proposed cluster merging
algorithm, when there are more than one clusters in the range of each other, the CH
with the highest id invokes the merging process. CH computes and verifies the merging
condition such as overlapping range, Merging Threshold Time (MTT) and distance
between CHs at the start and end of MTT. When merging conditions are satisfied, then
CH sends the merging accepted messages. After merging the clusters, a new CH is
elected on the basis of RSU Link Time (RLT). The CH which has highest RLT is
elected CH for the merged cluster. The detailed process of the cluster merging is
explained in chapter 6.

Moreover, around the intersection, moving cluster splits into different

directions. Existing CH can move only in one direction, while leaving the CMs of other
direction without any CH. Existing studies enhanced the cluster stability around the
intersection but limitations still exist due to unnecessary clustering. The proposed
splitting algorithm starts the splitting process as soon as CH enters into the intersection
area. The diameter of the intersection area is equal to the half of the communication
range from the center of the intersection. The new CH is elected based on the RLT and
destination of the CMs. Every vehicle has information about its destination through
the usage of Digital map. The direction of each vehicle is determined through the

90
relative destination of each vehicle which may be left, right or straight. After entering
the intersection area, the existing CH advertise its direction and destination. Then
existing CH elects the CHs for other two remaining directions. CH compares the RLT
of CMs in a specific direction (left, right or straight) on the basis of destination. The
CM which has a highest RLT in a particular direction is elected as a CH for that
direction. The same process is repeated to elect the CH for the remaining directions.
The overall procedure and result analysis of the OCM scheme is described in detail in
chapter 6. Figure 3.5 shows the block diagram of the design and implementation of the
OCM scheme.

Figure 3.5 Design, Implementation and Evaluation of Cluster Maintenance Scheme

91
 3.4 Simulation Framework

The final phase is the performance evaluation of the proposed work. The
performance of the RCHE, DCCMA and OCM schemes are simulated, tested and
evaluated against existing cluster-based location service schemes. Two types of
simulators, namely network simulator and traffic simulator are used to simulate the
vehicles in VANETs. Network simulators are used to simulate network protocols and
traffic simulators are used to emulate the road traffic behaviour. There are a number of
simulation frameworks have been developed such as Network simulator 2 (NS2),
Objective Modular Network Testbed in C++ (OMNET++), Optimized Network
Engineering Tool (OPNET), Matrix Laboratory (Matlab). However, OMNeT++ is
preferred as it provides extensible, modular, component-based C++ simulation platform
for developing and executing network simulations.

Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) is an open source, microscopic traffic

simulator designed to simulate road networks. It allows to configure individual
vehicles according to the requirement of the scenario such as based on vehicle id, lane,
speed, position and direction. SUMO also provides the facility of importing digital
maps in different formats including the OSM which is freely available from the
OpenStreetMap database. The imported map is converted into the network and route
files according to the requirement of the scenario.

OMNET++ and SUMO are integrated using Vehicles In Network Simulation

(VEINS). The VEINS is free open source Inter-Vehicular Communication (IVC)
simulation framework. It provides fully-detailed models of IEEE 802.11p. Moreover
, Veins provides better simulation support for VANETs in terms of modularity and
interfacing as compared to other simulators, such as iTETRIS (integrates NS3 with
SUMO), TraNS (combines NS2 with SUMO) (Ros, Martinez, & Ruiz, 2014; Zeadally,
Hunt, Chen, Irwin, & Hassan, 2012; Martinez, Toh, Cano, Calafate, & Manzoni,
2011).

92
 Therefore, the proposed ESCLS mechanism is simulated using network
simulator OMNET++ version 5.3 and is integrated with a realistic scenario which is
generated by using traffic simulator SUMO version 0.32.0. VEINS is used as a
middleware framework to connect OMNET++ and SUMO as shown in Figure 3.6.

Figure 3.6 The Integration of SUMO and OMNET++ Via Veins

3.5 Network Model and Simulation Setup

To employ a more realistic scenario, Doha map is considered in this research.

The Doha map is used to simulate the scenario because it is used by benchmark
research (Aissaoui et al., 2015). The simulation scenario is obtained with dimensions
(latitude:25.3440 to 25.2899 and longitude: 51.4666 to 51.5266). The map is obtained
from OpenStreetMap database as shown in Figure 3.7. MoGLS scheme performed
simulations considering 7.5km x 6km, while CBLS depended on 2km x 2km. The
HCBLS scheme used 5km x 5km to perform simulations. To compare proposed
schemes and HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS on same unique simulation area, the
simulation map 6km x 6km m is used for different simulations. Twenty RSUs are
deployed at different positions to cover the simulated area. The RSUs are working as
fixed location servers. Road is divided into segments of length 800m to cover the
effective range on the both side of the vehicles. The center of each segment is identified
as a centroid. To get the accurate positions of vehicles, the transmission of beacon

93
messages for all vehicles are set to 10Hz. The simulation period of 1000 seconds
provides the reliable results. To justify the density of vehicles, one lane in each
direction is used to simulate vehicles. In the proposed ESCLS mechanism, physical
and MAC layers are configured according to the IEEE 802.11p standard. The detailed
simulation parameters are given in the Table 3.2. Simulations are performed by taking
different maximum speed ranges from 10 m/s to 30 m/s (36 km/h – 108 km/h). The
density range of the vehicles is 150-950.

Figure 3.7 Part of the Doha Map used in the Simulation

The communication range of each vehicle is considered as 400m. Two

scenarios are used to analyze the performance of the proposed ESCLS mechanism
which depends on the speed and density of the vehicles. The average speed of the car
in a city is 30km/h (Huang and Zhang, 2013). To perform experiments in this research,
the average speed of the vehicles is considered as 40 km/h (Boban, Misek, & Tonguz,
2008). Also simulations are performed with varying density of vehicles. According to
Nzouonia et al. (2009) scenario of 350 vehicles represents high density while the
scenario of 250 vehicles represents medium density, and 150 vehicles represent low
density. Chou et al. (2011) and Jerbi et al. (2009) vehicles range from 100 to 1000 and
100 to 350 as considered as low to high density, respectively. However, evaluating a
network density depends on other factors such as the size of the simulation map.
Therefore, in this study, the number of vehicles in the network has been ranged from
150 to 950 to reflect the status of the network from low to dense. In the first scenario,
maximum speed of the vehicles varies from 36 km/h to 108 km/h while keeping the
average density of vehicles (13-16 vehicle/km/lane) (Darwish and Bakar, 2016). The

94
average density (13-16 vehicle/km/lane is approximately equals to 620 vehicles in
6km x 6km area). In the second scenario, maximum density of the vehicles varies from
150 to 950 while keeping the average speed 40 km/h. Table 3.4 exhibits the Physical,
MAC and other related parameters which are used to set up the simulation environment
(Woo and Lee, 2018; Asoudeh et al., 2017; Aissaoui et al., 2015).

Table 3.2 Performance Evaluation Parameters

Parameter Value

Simulation Area (Km) 6x6

Number of RSUs 20

MAC 802.11p

Simulation time (s) 1000

Wireless transmission range of a vehicle for 400

urban roads (m)

Beacon transmission frequency 10 Hz

RSU_update interval (s) 5

Number of lanes in each direction One

Density range (vehicles) 150-950

Average density(vehicle/km/lane = 13) ≈ 620 620

vehicles in 6km X 6km

Speed ranges (Km/h) 36-108

Average speed 40km/h

3.6 Performance Evaluation

The performance of the ESCLS mechanism is evaluated and compared with

the latest, ISI indexed and related cluster-based location service schemes like MoGLS,

95
CBLS and HCBLS as proposed by ( Woo and Lee, 2018; Asoudeh et al., 2017;
Aissaoui et al., 2015) respectively. The performance of the ESCLS mechanism is
evaluated in three stages based on three proposed schemes RCHE, DCCMA and OCM.

In the first stage, the performance of proposed RCHE scheme is compared with
the HCBLS and CBLS schemes. The proposed RCHE scheme is compared with
existing CH schemes of HCBLS and CBLS which represents that comparison is only
performed between proposed CH scheme and existing CH schemes of HCBLS and
CBLS. The impact of CH lifetime is analyzed in terms of query success rate and query
response delay.

The basic requirement for the second stage is the elected CH. After the election
of one vehicle as a CH, other vehicles start the CM affiliation process. The proposed
DCCMA is compared with existing CM schemes of CBLS and MoGLS. In the first
step, CH is elected for each scheme, then CM affiliation is performed. The
performance of each scheme is measured by CM lifetime. The impact of CM lifetime
is analyzed in terms of query success rate and fraction of location information saved
in RSUs.

The third cluster maintenance stage depends on the first two stages, in which
CH is elected for each scheme and vehicles are affiliated as CMs. The basic
requirement for cluster maintenance is the existence of clusters with CH and CMs. To
compare the proposed OCM scheme with the existing HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS
schemes. The CH elections and CM affiliations schemes are configured for each
scheme, then results are obtained after configuring OCM schemes. The impact of
cluster maintenance, which also depends on CH lifetime and CM lifetime, is evaluated
in terms query success rate, query response delay and localization error.

The ESCLS mechanism which is combination of RCHE, DCCMA and OCM

schemes is compared separately with CH election, CM affiliation and cluster
maintenance schemes of HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS. The proposed CH election

96
scheme is compared with only CH election schemes of HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS.
Same process is repeated for CM affiliation and cluster maintenance.

Once, the CH is elected The selected evaluation metrics for ESCLS mechanism
are used by existing studies to evaluate the cluster stability and the performance of the
location service. The comparison is based on the following metrics: CH Lifetime, CM
Lifetime (Zhang et al., 2018), query success rate, query response delay, fraction of
location information saved in the location servers, and localization error (Aissaoui et
al., 2015). The performance of the proposed ESCLS mechanism is evaluated by
performing simulations at different values of speed and density. The description of the
metrics used is given in the following section.

(a) CH Lifetime (CHL)

The stability of the cluster directly depends on the lifetime of the CH. The
larger value of the CH lifetime represents that cluster configuration is more stable.
The CH lifetime is the ratio of the total CH durations time to the number of cluster
heads. The CH lifetime is the average lifetime of CHs for a given scenario as defined
in Equation 3.1 (Zhang et al., 2018).

∑𝑛𝑖=1(𝑡𝑖𝑚 − 𝑡𝑖𝑏 ) (3.1)

𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶𝐻 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 =
𝑛

where n is the number of cluster head formed, (𝑡𝑖𝑏 ) is the time of cluster head election
and (𝑡𝑖𝑚 ) is the time of cluster headship losing.

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(b) CM Lifetime (CML)

The CM lifetime is the difference between the time when the vehicle joined the
cluster and the time when the vehicle left. The CM lifetime is the average of the
lifetime of the CMs as formulated in Equation 3.2 (Zhang et al., 2018).

∑𝑛𝑖=1(𝑡𝑖𝐿 − 𝑡𝑖𝐽 )
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶𝑀 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = (3.2)
𝑛

where n is the number of clusters members, (𝑡𝑖𝐽 ) is the time of clustering joining and
(𝑡𝑖𝐿 ) is the time of cluster leaving.

(c) Query Success Rate (QSR)

It is the ratio of number of the queries that have been responded to the number
of queries that have been sent from the source as given in Equation 3.3 (Asoudeh et
al., 2017; Aissaoui et al., 2015).

∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑟𝑐𝑣𝑑 (3.3)

𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑆𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 𝑛 %
∑𝑖=1 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡

where 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑟𝑐𝑣𝑑 is the received query and 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡 is the sent query.

(d) Query Response Delay (QRD)

The query response delay is the average of the difference between the time
when a vehicle sends a query and the time vehicle receives the respond. It is the ratio
of the total elapsed time of queries to the total number of queries. It is the average of
query response delay of n vehicles as defined in Equation 3.4 (Asoudeh et al., 2017;
Aissaoui et al., 2015).

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 ∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒(𝑖) (3.4)
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑅𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑒 𝐷𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑦 =
∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑄𝑢𝑒𝑟𝑦(𝑖)

where Query Responsetime(i) is the query response time of query of vehicle i and
Query(i) is the query of the vehicle i.

(e) Fraction of Location Information Saved in the Location Servers (FLISLS)

It is the ratio of number of the vehicles whose position is saved in the location
servers to the number of vehicles in the network as formulated in Equation 3.5
(Aissaoui et al., 2015).

𝐹𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐼𝑛𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑆𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑆

∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑑 (3.5)
= %
∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑉𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑙

(f) Localization Error (LE)

Localization error is the difference between current position of the vehicle at

any time t and position saved at the location server. It describes the freshness of the
location saved in the location server. It is the average of localization error of n vehicles
as given in Equation 3.6 (Aissaoui et al., 2015).

∑𝑛𝑖=1(𝐿𝑂𝐶𝑐𝑢𝑟(𝑖) − 𝐿𝑂𝐶𝑠𝑣𝑑(𝑖) ) (3.6)

𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝐸𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 =
𝑛

99
where 𝐿𝑂𝐶𝑐𝑢𝑟(𝑖) is the current position of the vehicle i and 𝐿𝑂𝐶𝑠𝑣𝑑(𝑖) is the saved
position of the vehicel i in the location server.

3.7 Assumptions and Limitations

This research has the following assumption and limitations which are
considered in the network scenario.

i. All vehicles are aware of their location information through GPS.

ii. All vehicles are equipped with digital maps which contain information about
roads and intersections.
iii. All vehicles have equal and large transmission range that covers area up to 400m.
iv. All vehicles are homogeneous with same computing capabilities.

3.8 Summary

This chapter presented the research methodology and framework used in the
development of the proposed ESCLS mechanism. The operational framework
explained the proposed phases of the ESCLS such as RCHE, DCCMA and OCM.
Table 3.1 summarized the overall research plan. In addition, this chapter elaborated
the simulation environment and parameters as well as the performance evaluation
metrics that are used to evaluate the proposed schemes. The various assumptions and
limitations were also considered in the simulation setup of this research.

100
 RELIABLE CLUSTER HEAD ELECTION SCHEME

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents a Reliable Cluster Head Election (RCHE) scheme that
addresses the existing Cluster Head (CH) election issues. The main objective of the
RCHE scheme is to enhance the performance of the location service by improving the
CH stability. In the existing cluster-based location schemes, CH election depends on
static clustering or dynamic clustering. In static clustering, road is divided into
segments and a separate CH is elected for each segment. The lifetime of CH is limited
to the segment. Dynamic clustering reduces the frequent CH while considering
mobility parameters during CH election process, but issues still exist due to non-
optimum cluster formation range. Moreover, every CH updates the location of CMs to
RSU. The CH is elected without considering the link reliability with the RSU which
affects the location updates and location queries of vehicles. Due to aforementioned
issues, cluster instability increases which degrades the performance of the location
service. In the proposed RCHE scheme, the stability of the CH is improved by
optimizing CH election range and enhancing link lifetime with the RSU. Section 4.2
describes the design of the proposed RCHE scheme. Afterward, sections 4.3 and
section 4.4 describe the simulation setup, results and analysis of the RCHE scheme
respectively. Finally, the summary of this chapter is presented in section 4.5.

4.2 Overview of the RCHE Scheme

In the cluster-based location service, every CH acts as a lower-level location

server. CH updates the locations of its CMs to Road Side Unit (RSU) which acts as a
higher-level server. The performance of the location service highly depends on the

101
stability of the CH. Location service schemes based on static clustering approach
divide the area into various segments and the collection of vehicles in each segment
defines a cluster. A CH is elected based on the position of a vehicle in segment. All
other vehicles in segment join the cluster as CMs. The static cluster-based schemes
suffer from the frequent CH changes and also clusters also overlap each other due to
cluster formation range. Dynamic clustering is more flexible because a CH moves
with its CMs. The election of the CH is based on the values of different metrics such
as distance, speed, direction and number of neighbours. In the existing dynamic
cluster-based location service scheme, each vehicle calculates its CHEV and
broadcasts to its neighbour vehicles. This process continues until a vehicle that has
optimum value is elected as a CH. Messages with delay greater than a threshold value
are discarded. The computation of the CHEV is affected due to undefined cluster
formation range. The computed CHEV elects unstable vehicle as a CH. Moreover,
existing cluster-based location service schemes elect CH without considering the link
reliability with the RSU. Some of the existing studies in the general clustering exploit
link status to elect CH. However, these schemes do not ensure stability of the CH with
the RSU and CMs simultaneously. Due to these issues, CH instability increases which
decreases the lifetime of the CH. The location updates and location queries are also
affected. Therefore, RCHE scheme is incorporated in the clustering that enhances the
reliability of the CH with the RSU. Moreover, the reliability of the CHEV also
increases by defining the CH election range. The design of the proposed approach is
presented in Section 4.3. As discussed in section 2.4, Table 4.1 provides a comparison
between existing CH schemes and the proposed RCHE scheme.

Table 4.1 Comparison Of Existing Schemes and Proposed RCHE Scheme

Existing CH Schemes Proposed CH Scheme

Non-optimum cluster formation range Cluster formation range is optimized by

due to overlapping and undefined range defining centroid and centroid vehicle
CH is elected without considering the CH is elected considering the reliability
link reliability with the RSU and stability with the RSU and stability with the
with the neighbouring vehicles neighbouring vehicles simultaneously.
simultaneously
Static clustering or dynamic clustering Static and dynamic clustering (hybrid)

102
 4.3 Design of the RCHE Scheme

The RCHE scheme enhances the cluster stability by improving CH lifetime by

electing a vehicle as a CH that is most stable with reference to its neighbours in terms
of mobility, having most stable link with higher-level location server and a high
number of neighbours. Referring to Figure 4.1, the flowchart explains the overall
working of the RCHE scheme. The working of the RCHE scheme is based on three
Centroid Vehicle
phases. In the first phase, a CV is elected whose distance from the centroid is
minimum. In the second phase, the vehicles that are in the range of the CV for three
consecutive Beacon Messages (BMs) defines Cluster Head Election Range (CHER).
In the third phase, every vehicle in the CHER range calculates its Cluster Head
Election Value (CHEV) that depends on Variability Index (VI), RSU Link LifeTime
(RLT) and number of neighbours. The output of each phase is used as input of next
phase. The algorithm 4.1 describes the CV election and CHER. The algorithm 4.2
describes the CH election process. The following subsections explain the structure of
each phase in details.

4.3.1 Centroid Vehicle Election Phase

The CV election phase starts with the identification of centroid. The road is
divided into segments of 800m. The centroid of each segment is already identified.
Each vehicle gets the information about the centroid of each segment through a digital
map. Vehicles share their information such as location, speed and direction through
Beacon Message the exchange of BMs. Moreover, the existing CH advertises its status through BMs.
(Lines 1-5, Algorithm 4.1). If vehicles get CH advertisement messages, then vehicles
advertise their location to existing CH, otherwise vehicles start the process of new CH
election and elect a Centroid Vehicle (CV). A vehicle whose position from the
centroid is minimum is elected as a CV and other vehicles continue to share its
information. Every vehicle calculates its distance from the centroid using the Equation
4.1 and shares it with other vehicles in its range (Lines 5-16, Algorithm 4.1).

103
Figure 4.1 Flow Chart of the Proposed RCHE Scheme

104
 𝐷 = √(𝑉𝑏𝑥 − 𝐶𝑥 ) 2 + (𝑉𝑏𝑦 − 𝐶𝑦 ) 2 ) ∀ Vb ɛ [1, Z] (4.1)

where D is the distance between vehicle Vb and centroid, (Vbx, Vby) are the x and y
coordinates of the position of the vehicle Vb, (Cx, Cy) are the x and y coordinates of the
position of the centroid. The vehicle whose distance from the centroid is minimum
advertises itself as CV and starts the process of CH election as shown in Figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2 Centroid and Centroid Vehicle

4.3.2 Cluster Head Election Range Phase

The CHER defines the number of vehicles participating in the CH election

process. The CV sends BMs to share its ID with neighboring vehicles. The vehicles
that are within the range of CV for three consecutive beacon messages, moving in the
direction of CV, define CHER as shown in Figure 4.3 (Lines 17-27, Algorithm 4.1).
The direction between the vehicle and the CV is determined through Equation 4.2 (Huo
et al., 2016). If the angle 𝜙 ≤ π/4, the vehicle Vd and CV are moving in the same
direction, otherwise in the opposite direction.

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐶𝑉 .𝐷𝑉 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
Vd (4.2)
𝜙(CV ,Vd) = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
∀ Vd ɛ [1, Z]
|𝐷𝑉 𝐶𝑉 ||𝐷𝑉 Vd |

where ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝑫𝑽𝑪𝑽 = 𝑫𝑽𝑪𝑽 𝒙 ⃗ + 𝑫𝑽𝑪𝑽 𝒚⃗ and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ⃗ + 𝑫𝑽𝑽𝒅 𝒚
𝑫𝑽𝑽𝒅 = 𝑫𝑽𝑽𝒅 𝒙 ⃗ are the
direction vectors of the CV and vehicle Vd.

105
 Figure 4.3 CH Election Range

4.3.3 Cluster Head Election Phase

The most common approach used for CH election is based on calculating the
CHEV that is combination of mobility and proximity parameters. Every vehicle
calculates its CHEV that quantifies its fitness to work as a CH. In the proposed RCHE
scheme, the CHEV is a weighted sum of VI, RLT and number of neighbours. The
relative importance of each metric is determined by adjusting the value of the weight
coefficients.

4.3.3.1 Calculation of Variability Index

The relative speed between vehicles is a logical choice to be considered as a

CH election metric. The vehicles that are moving together, with small relative speeds,
are more likely to be able to remain within communications range of each other for a
longer time. Asoudeh et al. (2017) depend only on speed difference, as mentioned in
the Equation 4.3, to calculate the speed variation with other vehicles, but this variation
does not ensure a stable CH. A low or high speed vehicle may be elected as a CH
which causes frequent CH changes. In the RCHE scheme, every vehicle in the CHER,
calculates VI, that depends on the average speed difference with other vehicle which
ensures a stable CH election as defined by Equation 4.4 (Lines 1-8, Algorithm 4.2).

106
 𝑦−1 (4.3)
𝑉𝐼𝑑 = ∑𝑗=0 (𝑣𝑑 − 𝑣𝑗 ) ∀ j € [1, Y-1]

1
𝑉𝐼𝑑 = ∑𝑦−1
𝑗=0 (𝑣𝑑 − 𝑣𝑗 ) ∀ j € [1, Y-1] (4.4)
𝑌

RSU Link Lifetime

4.3.3.2 Calculation of RLT with RSU

In the cluster based location service, CH updates the locations of its CMs to
RSU periodically. Location updates and location queries depend on a reliable link of
CH with RSU. If a vehicle with the greater link lifetime is elected as CH, it remains in
the range of RSU for a long time. The positions of the vehicles are updated consistently
which ultimately improves the performance of location service. Hence, the link
lifetime is an important metric to evaluate the most suitable CH. Alsuhli et al. (2019)
depend on Link LifeTime (LLT) to enhance the link reliability between vehicles as
mentioned in Equation 4.5.

)|𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△𝑣)
|𝐿𝐿𝑇| = 𝑅−|(𝐷𝑣𝑑 − 𝐷𝑣𝑘 (4.5)
|𝑉𝑑 −𝑉𝑘 |

where R is the communication range, 𝐷𝑣𝑑 − 𝐷𝑣𝑘 is the distance between two vehicles
vd and vk, 𝑣𝑑 − 𝑣𝑘 is the speed difference and 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△ 𝑣) is the sign function which
depends on the speed variation. If vd is faster than vk, then 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△ 𝑣=1 and -1
otherwise.

The aforementioned study, calculates the LLT between moving vehicles.

Whereas, in the cluster based location service schemes, every CH sends location
updates to RSU as well. Therefore, in order to calculate RSU Link LifeTime (RLT)
between CH and RSU, Equation 4.5 is converted into Equation 4.6, because the RSU
is static so its speed is zero.

107
 It is observed from the Equation 4.6, the vehicle Vr with lower speed have
higher RLT values; ultimately, these vehicle have higher possibility to become a CH.
The lower speed CHs are not stable with respect to its neighbours vehicles and leave
cluster frequently. So CH instability increases

𝑅−|(𝑅𝑆𝑈𝑃 − 𝑉𝑟𝑝 )| 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△𝑑) (4.6)

|𝑅𝐿𝑇𝑑 | =
|𝑉𝑑 |

where RSUp is the position of RSU, Vrp is the position of vehicle Vr and sign(△d) is
a sign function which depends on the distance between vehicle and RSU. CHEV
depends on RLT to elect a CH, and a vehicle has greater RLT has more chances of
being elected as CH.

The main contribution of the proposed RCHE scheme is to elect a vehicle as a

CH which has higher RLT with the RSU, and at the same time, it is the most stable
vehicle with respect to its neighbours. Therefore, the existing Equation 4.6 is improved
to address the aforementioned issue. The improved equation 4.7 depends on the
average speed difference to ensure reliability and hence, on the stability of the elected
CH.

|𝑅𝐿𝑇𝑑 | =
𝑅−|(𝑅𝑆𝑈𝑃 − 𝑉𝑝 (𝑑)) |𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△𝑑)
∀ j € [1, Y-1] (4.7)
1 𝑦−1
| ∑ (𝑣𝑑 −𝑣𝑗 )|
𝑌 𝑗=0

where RLT is the link lifetime of CH with RSU, R is the communication range, RSUp
is the position of RSU, Vp(d) is the position of vehicle Vd and sign(△d) is a sign
function whose value is -1 when vehicles are approaching the RSU and its value is 1
when vehicles are moving away from the RSU as determined by Equation 4.10 (Lines
9-16, Algorithm 4.2). The description of the sign function is given in the following
section.

It can be observed from the Figure 4.4 that the vehicles in the range A have
more link lifetime as compared to vehicles in the range B. The vehicles that enter the

108
range A cover 800m distance before leaving the transmission range of the RSU.
Whereas, existing vehicles in the range B cover 400m distance to get out of the range
of the RSU. In the range A, when vehicles enter the transmission range of the RSU,
the distance between RSU and vehicle starts decreasing from 400m and at the RSU
position, it reaches to zero and starts increasing on other side of the RSU. When the
distance between RSU and vehicles reaches to 400m, vehicles exit the transmission
range of the RSU. During the calculation of LLT, there is a chance that vehicle Vb in Link Lifetime
the range B has larger LLT as compared to a vehicle Va in the range A due to same
distance from the RSU as shown in Figure 4.4. In actual, vehicles in the range B have
smaller LLT as compared to the vehicles in the range A. So, in proposed RCHE scheme
a sign function sign(△d) is formulated whose value is calculated by Equations 4.8, 4.9
and 4.10.

Figure 4.4 RSU Communication Range

𝑑1 = 𝑑(𝑅𝑆𝑈𝑝, 𝑉𝑟) 𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑡 (4.8)

𝑑2 = 𝑑(𝑅𝑆𝑈𝑝, 𝑉𝑟) 𝑎𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑜𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 𝑡 + 0.1 (4.9)

−1 (𝑖𝑓 (𝑑1 > d2)

𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△ 𝑑) = { (4.10)
1 (𝑖𝑓 (𝑑1 < d2)

109
 4.3.3.3 Calculation of Number of Neighbours (Nnbr)

It is the total number of vehicles that are connected directly. It is obtained by

calculating the size of a neighbour table. It ensures that CH has large number of
neighbours (Mehmood et al., 2017) (Line 17, Algorithm 4.2).

4.3.3.4 Computation of the CHEV

In the CBLS scheme proposed by Asoudeh et al. (2017), CHEV depends on

distance difference sum, speed difference sum and number of neighbours. Every
vehicle calculates its CHEV and broadcasts to other neighbours in its range. The
proposed RCHE scheme, enhanced the existing CBLS schemes by considering the VI,
RSU Link Lifetime RLT and Nnbr parameters during CH election. Every vehicle calculates and sends its
Centroid Vehicle CHEV to the CV instead of broadcasting to other neighbours. The CV compares the

CHEV of all vehicles in its range. The CV advertises a vehicle as a CH which has
highest value based on the Equation 4.11 (Lines 18-29, Algorithm 4.2).

𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑉 = α(1/VI) + β(RLT) + γ (𝑁𝑛𝑏𝑟 ) (4.11)

The sensitivity analysis of each of the aforementioned parameters is optimized in

section 4.4. Based on different combination of α, β and γ, such that α + β + γ = 1, it is
concluded that the combination with α =0.5, β=0.3 and γ= 0.2 provides maximum CH
stability.

Algorithm 4.1: Centroid Vehicle and Cluster Head Election Range

Input:
Rseg: Road segment
Z: Number of vehicles // number of vehicles in a segment
Cseg: Centroid of road segment // center of each segment
Output:
CHER: Cluster Head Election Range
Start:
1 . Va send BMs ∀ Va ɛ [1, Z]
2 . Va receive BMs // vehicles share information

110
3. If CH exists
4. CH share its information
5. Go to line 1
6. Else
7. Min_distance = Distance_array [0]
8. For (b=1, b ≤ Z, b++) // election of centroid vehicle
9. Compute D(Vb) = distance (Vb, Centroid)
10. Distance_array [b] = D(Vb)
11. If ((distance(D(Vb)) < distance ((Min_distance))
12. Min_distance = D(Vb)
13. CV=Min_distance
14. Else Vb sends and receives BMs as a vehicle
15. End if
16. End for
17. CV advertise its status as a Centroid Vehicle
18. For (c=1, c ≤ Z, c++) // defining the CHER Centroid vehicle
𝑐 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉 .𝐷𝑉𝐶𝑉⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
19. ɸ𝑐 = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠 |𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ||𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ |
// ɸ angle between a vehicle Vc and CV
𝑉𝑐 𝐶𝑉
20. CV_range(Vc) = distance (CV, Vc) ≤ 400 for three consecutive BMs
21. If ( ɸc ≤ Π/4 Ʌ CV_range(Vc))
22. CHER_Array[c]=Vc
23. Else Vc sends and receives BMs as a vehicle
24. End if
25. End For
26. Y=Sizeof(CHER_Array [])
27. End if
28. Return CHER
End

Algorithm 4.2: Reliable Cluster Head Election

Input:
CHER: Cluster head election range
Y: Number of vehicles in the CHER
Output:
CH: Elected cluster head
Start
1 . RSUP= get_position(RSU)
2 . VP (d) = get_position(Vd)
3 . VP (j) = get_position(Vj)
4 . Vj = get_speed(j)
5 . Vd = get_speed(d)
6 . α =0.5 and β=0.3 γ= 0.2 such that α + β + γ = 1
7. For (d=0; d < Y; d++)
1 𝑦−1
8. 𝑉𝐼𝑑 = 𝑌 ∑𝑗=0 (𝑉𝑑 − 𝑉𝑗 ) // Variability index of vehicle Vd
9. d1=d(RSUp,Vd ) at time t // distance between RSU and Vd
10. d2=d(RSUp, Vd) at time t+0.1
11. If (d1>d2)
12. Sign(△d)= -1 // value of Sign function
13. else

111
 14. Sign(△d)= +1
15. End if
16. |𝑅𝐿𝑇𝑑 | = | 𝑅−|(RSUP)−(V|𝑉𝐼
P (d)|( Sign(△d) ))|
// RLT of vehicle Vd
𝑑|
17. Nnbr (Vd)= count (Nnbr_table) // Number of neighbours of Vd
1
18. 𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑉(𝑉𝑑 ) = 𝛼(𝑉𝐼 (𝑉𝑑 ) + 𝛽(𝑅𝐿𝑇(𝑉𝑑 ) + 𝛾 (𝑁𝑛𝑏𝑟 (𝑉𝑑 ))
19. Vd Sends CHEV to CV
20. CHEV_Array [d] = CHEV (Vd)
21. End for
22. X= Sizeof (CHEV_Array [d])
23. CH = CHEV_Array [0] // CH value is initialized at CHEV [0]
24. For (e=1; e < X; e++)
25. If (𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑉_𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦[e] > 𝐶𝐻])
26. 𝐶𝐻 = 𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑉_𝐴𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦[𝑒]
27. End if
28. End for
29. Return CH
End

4.4 Sensitivity Analysis of Weight Parameters

This section analyzes the sensitivity of the weighting factors values

incorporated in the CHEV calculation process. Different combinations of values of α,
β and γ are used to select the best values that ensures a good balance among the
selection metrics of the proposed RCHE scheme. In particular, the sensitivity of the
three weighting factors α, β and γ on the CH lifetime is examined in order to select the
most balanced group of these weights.

Equation 4.11 calculates the CHEV, based on the weights of α, β and γ.

Basically, the weighting factors are used to determine the percentage of the
contribution for each component in calculating the CHEV. For example, considering
the values of α =0.4, β =0.3 and γ =0.3, represents that VI contributed 40%, LLT
contributed 30% and number of neighbours contributed 30% in the calculation of the
CHEV. In general, there are no optimal ratios to be assigned to α, β and γ which gives
the best CH life time in all scenarios. Therefore, the sensitivity analysis for α, β and γ
is conducted to determine the most suitable values of CH election decisions.

112
 Different weighting factors combinations are evaluated to analyze the effect of
α, β and γ values on the CH lifetime. Combinations CHEV(0.3, 0.4, 0.3), CHEV(0.3,
0.3, 0.4), CHEV(0.4, 0.4, 0.2), CHEV(0.2, 0.4, 0.4) and CHEV(0.5, 0.3, 0.2) are
analyzed to find the optimum combination that provides highest CH lifetime.
CHEV(0.3, 0.4, 0.3) configuration favours the RLT and number of neighbours as
compared to stability of the vehicle. In the CHEV(0.3, 0.3, 0.4) combination, CH
lifetime is effected due to more concentration on the number of neighbours.
CHEV(0.4, 0.4, 0.2) combination although gives better CH lifetime values but still is
affected due to same preference assigned to stability and RLT of the vehicle. In CHEV
(0.2, 0.4, 0.4) combination, the lifetime of the CH is affected due to assigning less
values to mobility parameters.

The weighting factors group of CHEV(0.5, 0.3, 0.2) has shown the best results
in terms of highest CH lifetime as shown in Figure 4.5. The stability of the CH depends
on the VI, and RLT depends on the VI. In particular, if the election of the CH is based
on the stability with neighboring vehicles and highest RLT, it will ensure a most stable
CH.

200
180
160
CH Lifetime(seconds)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0.3,0.3,0.4 0.3,0.4,0.3 0.5,0.3,0.2 0.4,0.4,0.2 0.2,0.4,0.4
Weighting Factors

Figure 4.5 Sensitivity Analysis of Weighting Factors

113
 4.5 Performance Evaluation of the RCHE Scheme

The proposed RCHE scheme is compared with existing cluster-based, most

related, ISI indexed HCBLS and CBLS schemes. The major contributions of HCBLS
and CBLS are the CH election schemes. So, these schemes are compared with
proposed RCHE CH election scheme. In the HCBLS scheme CH election is based on
the position of the vehicle. The lifetime of the CH is limited to the road segment and
decreases with the increase of speed. CBLS is based on dynamic clustering. The CH
lifetime is improved due to dynamic approach and considering mobility parameters
such as speed, distance and number of neighbours. However, CH lifetime is affected
due to non-optimum limits of speed and distance and undefined cluster formation
range. In the proposed RCHE scheme, CH election is based on first defining the CH
election range and then using speed, RSU Link LifeTime (RLT) and number of
neighbours as CH election parameters. Also, the lifetime of CH is improved by
synchronizing the CH stability with the CMs and RSU simultaneously. RCHE has
presented an optimized CH election scheme which ultimately improved the
performance of the location service. The performance evaluation of the RCHE scheme
is analyzed in following subsections in terms of Average CH lifetime, query success
rate and average query response delay.

4.5.1 Average CH Lifetime

The stability of the cluster directly depends on the lifetime of a CH. The larger
value of the CH lifetime represents that cluster configuration is more stable. The
Average CH lifetime is obtained through dividing the total durations of the CHs in the
network by total number of CHs. This section demonstrates the performance
comparison of the RCHE scheme against HCBLS, and CBLS schemes in terms of
average CH lifetime based on speed and density.

114
(a) Impact of Speed on Average CH Lifetime

The CH lifetime of the HCBLS depends on the size of the segment. The
elected CH will take less time to cover same distance with the increase in speed. The
CH lifetime of the HCBLS decreases with the increase in the speed. In the CBLS,
every vehicle calculates its speed difference, distance difference with neighbouring
vehicles and number of neighbours to compute CHEV. Each vehicle broadcasts this
information. In turn, each neighbour again broadcasts this information. The messages
beyond certain delay are discarded. The links between vehicles further breaks with the
increase in speed, which leads to incomplete and unreliable CHEV. Moreover, the
CHEV is affected due to undefined weights of the metrics.

In the proposed RCHE scheme, the CH election includes only those vehicles
which remain in the range of the CV for the three consecutive intervals, and eliminates
the fast moving and slow moving vehicles from the CH election range which ensures
a stable CHEV. The CH is elected by obtaining average relative velocity of individual
vehicle with respect to neighboring vehicles in the network. The use of the VI in RLT
value further magnifies the stability of the CH. These factors contribute in achieving
the improved CH lifetime with the increase in the speed of the vehicles. For the lowest
speed (36km/h), the average CH lifetime of the proposed RCHE scheme is improved
by 19% and 78% as compared with the CBLS and HCBLS respectively. The increase
in speed affects the performance of all schemes, because of the rapid topological
changes. The RCHE scheme showed the best performance as compared to the HCBLS.
In the HCBLS, the CH lifetime is limited to the segment of the road. In the HCBLS,
the CH takes less time to cover the road segment at higher speeds. At the highest speed
(108km/h), the RCHE achieves 30% and 89% improved average CH lifetime as
compared to CBLS and HCBLS respectively as given in Figure 4.6.

115
 RCHE CBLS HCBLS

200

Average CH Lifetime(seconds)
150

100

50

0
36 54 72 90 108
Maximum Speed (Km/h)

Figure 4.6 Average CH Lifetime at Different Maximum Speed

(b) Impact of Density on Average CH Lifetime

Figure 4.7 shows the performance of the RCHE, CBLS and HCBLS schemes
in terms of average CH lifetime against the maximum number of the vehicles in the
network. In HCBLS, CH lifetime depends on the length of the road segment and speed
of vehicles. With the increase in density, the stay time of a CH in a segment increases
which ultimately increases the lifetime in a segment as compared to speed based.
However, lifetime of a CH in static clustering is limited to length of the road segment.
CBLS depends on dynamic clustering. The CH election in CBLS is based on the
broadcasting approach. The messages beyond certain delay are discarded. With the
increase of the density, the number of discard messages increases which ultimately
affects the CHEV. The high vehicular densities result in high congestion and
contention on transmission channels which lead to losing CHEV messages.

In the proposed RCHE scheme, the density is managed by employing range

and number of vehicle in the range of centroid vehicle. Also, every vehicle calculates
CHEV and, instead of broadcasting over the network, sends it to the centroid vehicle.
RCHE has presented an optimized CH election scheme due to which the lifetime of
the CH increases. The average CH lifetime time of the proposed RCHE scheme is
improved by 11% and 75% (with maximum density 150) and 58% and 72% (with

116
maximum density 950) as compared to the CBLS and HCBLS respectively, as shown
in Figure 4.7.

RCHE CBLS HCBLS

200
Average CH Lifetime(seconds)

180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
150 350 550 750 950
Maximum Density

Figure 4.7 Average CH Lifetime at Different Maximum Density

4.5.2 Query Success Rate

It is the ratio of number of the queries that have been responded to the number
of queries that have been sent from the source. The QSR depends the stability of the
CH, CM, location updates and reliable links of the CH with the RSU. Figure 4.8 and
4.9 show the query success rate comparison of RCHE, CBLS and HCBLS.

(a) Impact of Speed on Query Success Rate

In the HCBLS, the CH which carries the location information of its CMs
changes frequently due to static clustering approach. Due to high mobility of vehicles,
the lifetime of the CH reduces. In the CBLS, location service depends on CH,
intermediate server and main server, which are all moving location servers. With the
increase in speed, the instability of these servers increases which decrease the query
success rate. The query success rate of the proposed RCHE scheme is improved due
to the stability of the CH and because of reliable links with the RSU.

117
 The results show that the RCHE scheme achieves better query success rate as
compared to counterparts. The RCHE scheme achieves 11% and 21% improved query
success rate at lowest speed (36 km/h) as compared to the CBLS and HCBLS
respectively. At the highest speed (108km/h), the query success rate is improved by
17% and 26% against the existing CBLS and HCBLS schemes respectively as given
in Figure 4.8.

RCHE CBLS HCBLS

100
90
Query Sucess Rate (%)

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
36 54 72 90 108
Maximum Speed (Km/h)

Figure 4.8 Average Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Speed

(b) Impact of Density on Query Success Rate

Figure 4.9 shows the performance of the RCHE, CBLS and HCBLS schemes
in terms of query success rate against the number of the vehicles in the network. In the
HCBLS, with the increase in the density, the lifetime of each CH and CM in a segment
increases; however, lifetime is limited to road segment. The location updates and
location queries are affected due to change of CH in each segment. The CBLS depends
on broadcasting approach without defining any range. The messages beyond certain
delay are discarded. With the increase of density, the contention on communication
channels increases which causes further messages loss. The CHEV is affected which
increases the CH instability.

118
 In the proposed RCHE scheme, density is managed by first defining the CH
election range and then electing a CH. Also, the CH election depends on reliable link
with the RSU. The CH showed reasonable stability in the increased density. The query
success rate of the proposed RCHE scheme is improved by 10%, and 47% for the
lowest density (150 vehicles in the network) and 20% and 22%, for highest density
(950 vehicles in the network) as compared to the CBLS and HCBLS respectively.

RCHE CBLS HCBLS

90
80
Query Success Rate(%)

70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
150 350 550 750 950
Maximum Density

Figure 4.9 Average Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Density

4.5.3 Average Query Response Delay

The query response delay is the difference between the time when a vehicle
sends a query and the time when vehicle receives the respond. It is the average of the
delay that is obtained by the ratio of total elapsed time of the queries to the total number
of queries. It is an important parameter to measure the performance of the location
service in vehicular networks. The main objective of the location service is to provide
the fresh locations of vehicles. The freshness of locations is compromised with the
increase in delay. Figure 4.10 and Figure 4.11 shows the delay comparison of RCHE,
CBLS and HCBLS.

119
(a) Impact of Speed on Query Response Delay

In the cluster-based location service, delay also depends on the stability of the
CH. The lifetime of the CHs in HCBLS is limited to road segment. A new CH is elected
for each segment. The frequent changes in the CHs affects the location updates and
location queries. In the CBLS, the instability of the CH and higher level servers
increases due to change in speeds. The instability of the CHs triggers the CH election
process frequently, which applies that more control messages are transmitted to again
elect the CH, which affects the location updates and location queries.

The delay of the proposed RCHE scheme is improved due to stability of CHs
at higher speeds. The location updates and location queries are improved. The results
show that the RCHE scheme shows less delay as compared to counterparts. The RCHE
scheme achieves 8% and 20% improved delay at lowest speed (36km/h) and 18% and
26% at highest speed (108km/h) as compared to the CBLS and HCBLS respectively
as shown in Figure 4.10.

RCHE CBLS HCBLS

500
450
Query Response Delay(ms)

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
36 54 72 90 108
Maximum Speed (Km/h)

Figure 4.10 Average Query Delay at Different Maximum Speed

120
(b) Impact of Density on Query Response Delay

Figure 4.11 shows the performance of the RCHE, CBLS and HCBLS schemes
in terms of query response delay against the number of the vehicles in the network. In
HCBLS, query response delay increases due to the instability of the CH and CH. The
CBLS depends on the broadcasting approach to elect the CH. The stability of the CH
is affected due to non-optimum values of the speed and distance and ignoring the
proper weightage of speed, distance and number of neighbours. The instability of the
CH further increases with the increase in the density. The network congestion and
contention increase in the network which delays the location queries.

In the proposed RCHE scheme, delay is reduced because density is controlled

by defining CH election range. Every vehicle calculates its CHEV and sends to CV
instead of broadcasting to its neighbours as in in the CBLS. The RLT depends on the
VI. This factor further enhances the stability of the CH. Moreover, the CH election is
based on the reliability of the CH with the RSU. The CH shows reasonable stability in
the increased density. The delay of the proposed RCHE scheme is reduced by 14%
and 20% at lowest density (150 vehicles in the network) and 21% and 22% at highest
density (950 vehicles in the network) as compared to the CBLS and HCBLS
respectively.

RCHE CBLS HCBLS

500
450
Query Response Delay(ms)

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
150 350 550 750 950
Maximum Density

Figure 4.11 Average Query Delay at Different Maximum Density

121
 4.6 Summary

In this chapter, a RCHE scheme improved the performance of location service

by enhancing CH stability. The RCHE scheme enhanced the cluster stability by
introducing two algorithms. The first algorithm defined the boundary of the vehicles
participating in CH election by defining the range. Then, the second algorithm elected
the CH from the vehicles in the range on the basis of the stability, link status with the
RSU and number of neighbours. The simulation results showed that the RCHE scheme
has significant improvements in terms of the increasing cluster head lifetime by 54%,
increasing the query success rate by 20%, and reducing the query response delay by
21%.

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DYNAMIC CUMULATIVE CLUSTER MEMBER AFFILIATION SCHEME

5.1 Introduction

This chapter presents a Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member Affiliation

(DCCMA) scheme that addresses the existing Cluster Member (CM) affiliation issues.
The main aim of the DCCMA scheme is to enhance the performance of the location
service by improving CM stability. The CM stability is improved by increasing the
link reliability with the CH and minimizing the Isolated Vehicles (IVs). Section 5.2
describes the overview of the DCCMA scheme. Section 5.3 presents the design,
flowchart, and pseudo code of the DCCMA scheme. In section 5.4, the comprehensive
performance evaluation of the DCCMA is presented and compared with state-of-art
schemes in terms of cluster member lifetime, query success rate and query response
delay. Finally, section 5.5 summarizes and concludes this chapter.

5.2 Overview of the DCCMA Scheme

In the cluster-based location service, each CM after affiliating, sends location

information to CH. The stability of the CM in a cluster is affected due to unreliable
link with the CH. Moreover, some of the vehicles could not affiliate and remain
isolated due to fixed CM affiliation threshold value. As discussed in subsections 1.2.2
and 2.5, it has been observed from the past literature, the majority of the existing
studies did not consider link status with CH while defining CM affiliation criteria.
Also, the studies considering link status depend on the instantaneous values of the
speed which compromise the stability of the CM lifetime in a cluster. Furthermore, in
order to affiliate a vehicle, every CH compares the Cluster Head Link LifeTime
(CHLT) value with a predefined CM affiliation threshold value. Some of the vehicles

123
 could not affiliate to any cluster due to static threshold values. IVs increase in the
network.

Due to frequent change, the position of these CMs is not updated consistently
to higher-level servers. Moreover, location information of the isolated vehicles which
are not part of any cluster is not updated to location servers. The cluster member
instability increases. Consequently, performance of the location service highly
affected due to unavailability of location information of these CMs. Due to missing
location information of the vehicles, query success rate decreases. Moreover, due to
frequent and repeating CMs affiliation requests, location update and location query
delay increases. Therefore, a Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member Affiliation
(DCCMA) scheme is incorporated in the clustering that addresses the aforementioned
issues effectively. Table 5.1 highlights the comparison of the existing and proposed
DCCMA scheme.

Table 5.1 Comparison Of Existing Schemes and Proposed DCCMA Scheme

Existing Schemes Proposed DCCMA Scheme

Depend on instantaneous values to calculate Depends on cumulative moving

the LLT average speed
CM affiliation threshold value depends on CM threshold values are defined
fixed values dynamically based on the beacon
message interval and location update
intervals
Isolated Vehicle (IV) does not send location The IV which does not sense nearby
information directly to RSU, instead, elects CH or could not affiliate to CH, sends
itself as a CH, which may leads to instable location information directly to the
vehicle as a CH RSU

5.3 Design of Proposed DCCMA Scheme

The DCCMA scheme enhances the CM stability by improving CM lifetime

and reducing the isolated vehicles. The CM lifetime is improved by considering the

124
link reliability with the CH. Referring to Figure 5.1, the flowchart explains the overall
working of the DCCMA scheme, where the blue colored blocks refer to the
contribution of this research. The algorithm 5.1 explains the overall procedure of the
DCCMA scheme.

Figure 5.1 Flow Chart of DCCMA Scheme

125
 The proposed DCCMA scheme depends on the Cumulative Moving Average
Speed (CMAS) instead of the instantaneous speed to calculate CHLT. The IVs are
reduced by increasing the flexibility to affiliate the vehicles. The DCCMA scheme is
based on three phases such as CH and RSU sensing phase, CM eligibility computation
phase and CM affiliation phase. The output of each phase is used as input of the next
page.

5.3.1 CH and RSU Sensing Phase

In VANETs, vehicles send and receive Beacon Messages (BMs) to share

information which includes vehicle id, location, speed and direction. IV senses the Isolated Vehicle
existence of CH in its range through BMs (Lines 1-5, Algorithm 5.1). After sensing or
A new vehicle
the CH membership advertisement messages, IV compares its road id and direction
with the road id and direction of the CH. If direction and road id of the CH and IV are
same, then CM eligibility evaluation phase starts (Lines 6-9, Algorithm 5.1). The
direction parameter blocks the opposite direction vehicles form joining the cluster. The
IV determines its direction with the CH using the Equation 5.1 (Huo et al., 2016). In
the presence of the road ID, only vehicles on the same road join the cluster, otherwise
vehicles from other parallel roads also send CM requests to join the cluster. These
vehicles join and leave cluster frequently and hence increases cluster instability as
shown in Figure 5.2.

⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐼𝑉 .𝐷𝑉 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐶𝐻(𝑖) (5.1)
𝜙(IV ,𝐶𝐻(𝑖)) = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠 |𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ||𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ |
∀ i ɛ [1, n]
𝐼𝑉 𝐶𝐻(𝑖)

where ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐼𝑉 = 𝐷𝑉𝐼𝑉𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐷𝑉𝐼𝑉𝑦 𝑦 and ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑖) = 𝐷𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑖)𝑥 𝑥 + 𝐷𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑖)𝑦 𝑦 are the
direction vectors of the IV and CH(i) respectively.

126
 Figure 5.2 Road ID and Direction of the Vehicles

5.3.2 CM Eligibility Computation Phase

In the CM eligibility computation phase, IV computes its CHLT with the

neighbouring CHs. In the existing studies, the Link LifeTime (LLT) depends on the
instantaneous values of the speed which does not ensure an accurate and reliable CM
affiliation. The proposed DCCMA scheme is enhanced by using CMAS of CH for CM
affiliation. The CH starts the process of calculating CMAS from the instant it is elected
as a CH. The CMAS is obtained by adding the instantaneous speed of previous
intervals as shown in Figure 5.2 (Lines 10-22, Algorithm 5.1).
v1 + v2 + v3 + ⋯ + Vn (5.2)
𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆(𝑖)𝑛 =
n

The CMAS of next beacon message is obtained by adding CMAS of the

previous intervals using the Equation 5.3.

V𝑛+1 + n. CMASn (5.3)

𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆(𝑖)𝑛+1 =
n+1

127
 Alsuhli et al. (2019) depend on instantaneous speed of the vehicles to calculate
the Link LifeTime (LLT) as mentioned in Equation 5.4.

)| 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛(△𝑣)
|𝐿𝐿𝑇| = 𝑅−|(𝐷𝑣𝑑 − 𝐷𝑣𝑘 (5.4)
|𝑉𝑑 −𝑉𝑘 |

The proposed DCCMA scheme utilize the CMAS of the CH(i) to calculate
the CHLT(i) using the Equation 5.5.
CHCR − | DCH(i) − DIV |sign(△CH(i)−IV ) (5.5)
𝐶𝐻𝐿𝑇(𝑖) =
| 𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐻(𝑖) − 𝑉𝐼𝑉 |

where CHCR is the Cluster Head Communication Range, | DCH(i) − DIV | is the
distance between CH(i) and IV, 𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐻(𝑖) is the cumulative moving average speed
of CH(i), 𝑉𝐼𝑉 is the speed of isolated vehicle and sign(△CH−IV ) is the sign function
whose value is 1 when CH(i) is faster than IV, otherwise -1. IV calculates CHLT with
each of the neighbouring CH(i). IV compares the CHLT of these CHs and sends CM
request to the CH which has the highest CHLT (Lines 23-33, Algorithm 5.1).

Figure 5.3 Cumulative Moving Average Speed of the CH

128
5.3.3 CM Affiliation Phase

In the existing studies, CM affiliation threshold value 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ depends on the fix
values while ignoring the vehicle to CH and CH to RSU update intervals which causes
the increase in IVs in the network. In the proposed DCCMA scheme, 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ is dynamic
that depends on the 𝐼𝑉_𝐶𝐻_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 and 𝐶𝐻_𝑅𝑆𝑈_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 as
shown in Figure 5.4. The CH(i) compares the CHLT value with the CM affiliation
threshold value 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ that is based on the equation 5.6 (Lines 34-38, Algorithm 5.1).

𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ = 3 ∗ 𝐼𝑉_𝐶𝐻_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 ∗ 𝐶𝐻_𝑅𝑆𝑈_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 (5.6)

where Tresh is the CM affiliation threshold value, 3 represents three-way handshake

between IV and CH, 𝐼𝑉_𝐶𝐻_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 represents the update interval from IV
to CH and 𝐶𝐻_𝑅𝑆𝑈_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 defines the update interval from CH to RSU.

In VANETs, different application uses different beacon intervals to update

their information such as speed and location to the CH. Then, the CH updates location
information of its CMs to higher level servers such as RSU. The main function of the
CH is to collect information about its CMs periodically based on the
𝐼𝑉_𝐶𝐻_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 as shown in Figure 5.4. and then update this information
to higher lever servers based on 𝐶𝐻_𝑅𝑆𝑈_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 to use it for various
applications.

At the minimum level, the CM affiliation threshold value should be defined

such that the IVs update their location information to the corresponding CH and the
CH further updates this information to higher level server. The proposed CM
affiliation threshold value is more flexible as compared to existing threshold values.
The proposed dynamic threshold value provides two advantages: minimize frequent
CM changes and decrease IVs.

129
 Figure 5.4 Update Intervals from the IV to CH and CH to RSU

A CH responds to the CM request whose CHLT satisfies the Equation 5.7. IV

and sends
𝐶𝐻𝐿𝑇 ≥ 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ (5.7)

the CM acknowledgment to the CH. The CH receives the acknowledgement and

affiliate the IV vehicle as a CM. The CH updates the location of this new CM in its
location table (Lines 32-36, Algorithm 5.1). If road id and direction are not same, it
implies there is no any CH moving on the same road and in the same direction. Then,
IV senses for nearest RSU. If IV gets the BMs from the RSU, it updates its location to
the RSU otherwise it again searches for the nearest CH (Lines 38-46, Algorithm 5.1).

Algorithm 5.1: Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member Affiliation

Input:
CH: Cluster Head
RSU: Road Side Unit
IV: Isolated vehicle
Output:
CM: Affiliated isolated vehicle
Start
1 IV sends BMs
2 IV receives BMs
3 IV receives CHAMs
4 CHCR=400
5 n=In-Range-CH(i) // number of CH(i) in neighbour table
6 𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ = 3 ∗ 𝐼𝑉_𝐶𝐻_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 ∗ 𝐶𝐻_𝑅𝑆𝑈_𝑈𝑝𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒_𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙
7 For (i=1; i ≤ n; i++)

130
 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐼𝑉 .𝐷𝑉 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐶𝐻(𝑖)
8 𝜙(IV ,𝐶𝐻(𝑖)) = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠 |𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ||𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ |
𝐼𝑉 𝐶𝐻(𝑖)
9 If ((𝜙 ≤ π/4 and IV_Road-ID == CH(i)_Road-ID))
10 IV compute CHLT(i) // for all in the range of IV
V𝑛+1 + n.CMAS(i)n
11 𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆(𝑖)𝑛+1 = n+1
12 IV computes sign(△CH−IV )
13 If (𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐻(𝑖) > 𝑉𝐼𝑉 )
14 sign(△CH−IV )=1
15 Else
16 sign(△CH−IV )= -1
17 End if
CHCR−| DCH(i) −DIV(j) |sign(△CH−IV )
18 𝐶𝐻𝐿𝑇(𝑖) = | 𝐶𝑀𝐴𝑆𝐶𝐻(𝑖) −𝑉𝐼𝑉 |
19 CHLT-A[]= CHLT(i)
20 Else print CH(i) has different direction
21 End if
22 End For
23 U= Sizeof(CHLT-A[])
24 If (D=0)
25 Go to line 40
26 Else
27 Highest=CHLT-A[0]
28 For (i=1; i ≤ U; i++)
29 If (CHLT-A[i] > Highest
30 Highest= CHLT-A[i]
31 Else CH(i) has lower CHLT
32 End if
33 End For
34 IV sends CM request to Highest CH(i)
35 If (CHLT-A(i) ≥ Tresh) // CH compares CHLT with Tresh
36 CH sends the CM_reply to IV
37 IV acknowledge the CM_reply
38 CH(i) updates location_table
39 Else
40 If distance(IV(j), RSU) ≤ to 400)
41 IV sends its position to RSU
42 RSU updates location table
43 Else go to Line 1
44 End if
45 End if
46 End if
47 Return CM
End

131
 5.4 Performance Evaluation of the DCCMA Scheme

The proposed DCCMA scheme is compared with existing cluster-based CBLS

and MoGLS schemes for the performance analysis. The CBLS and MoGLS schemes
are most related, latest, ISI-indexed and proposed CM affiliation schemes. The cluster
member affiliation in CBLS scheme depends on the speed difference with the CH. The
CH affiliates the vehicles as a CM which have maximum speed difference equal to 18
km/h. The CM affiliation is based on instantaneous values of the speed, also, the
vehicles whose speed is greater than 18km/h could not affiliate to any cluster. Due to
these issues the lifetime of CM decreases. The MoGLS scheme improves the CM
affiliation by utilizing the distance and speed information of the vehicles. In the
MoGLS scheme, every vehicle calculates its sojourn time and compares it with the
fixed threshold value sent by the CH. If sojourn time is greater than threshold value,
then vehicle joins the cluster as a CM. The sojourn time is calculated based on
instantaneous values. Moreover, when CH sends membership advertisement
messages, vehicles moving in the same direction onto another road also response the
messages and join the clusters, but their lifetime in the cluster is limited due to moving
onto the different road. Due to non-optimum CM affiliation criteria, vehicles join and
leave the clusters frequently. Also, due to dependence on the fixed threshold values,
some of the vehicles could not join the cluster and remain isolated. Isolated vehicles
increase in the network. In the proposed DCCMA scheme, the stability of a CM in a
cluster is improved by addressing the above mentioned issues.

The improved DCCMA scheme enhanced the CM stability by using CMAS

approach, by utilizing dynamic threshold values that depend on IV to CH and CH to
RSU location update intervals. The isolated vehicles are reduced by sending location
updates directly to RSU in the absence of the any nearby CH, or in case a vehicle could
not affiliate to any cluster. The performance of the DCCMA scheme is analyzed in the
following subsections in terms of average CM lifetime, fraction of the vehicles
location saved in the RSU and query success rate respectively.

132
5.4.1 Average CM Lifetime

The stability of the cluster also depends on the lifetime of a CM in a cluster.

The larger value of the CM lifetime represents that cluster member affiliation scheme
is more stable. The CM lifetime is the difference of the time from the instant when
vehicle joins a cluster to the time when CM lost the cluster. The average CM lifetime
is the average of the lifetime of the CMs. Figure 5.5 and 5.6 demonstrate the
performance comparison of the DCCMA scheme against CBLS and MoGLS schemes
in terms of average CM lifetime.

(a) Impact of Speed on Average CM Lifetime

Figure 5.5 presents the average CM lifetime of CBLS, MoGLS and DCCMA
schemes against different maximum speed of the vehicles. The CM lifetime of all
schemes decreases with the increase in speed as shown in Figure 5.5. It can be
considered normal because when vehicles move faster, the network topology becomes
more dynamics, this makes it difficult for the CMs to remain affiliate with clusters.
The CBLS depends on the instantaneous speed difference with the CH. With the
increase in speed, the links between CH and CMs break frequently which reduces the
lifetime of each CM in cluster. In the MoGLS, the lifetime of the CM is improved by
considering sojourn time which depends on the speed and distance of the vehicles.
However, the CM lifetime is still affected due to depending on instantaneous speed
and ignoring relative speed and distance with the CH.

The proposed DCCMA scheme showed the best average CM lifetime due to
the enhanced stability of the CM in the cluster. The stability of the CM also increases
with the stability of the CH. In the DCCMA scheme, the stability of the CM with the
CH is further enhanced by considering the reliable CMAS instead of instantaneous
speed. The CMs remain more stable with their CHs as compared to the CBLS and
MoGLS which leads to enhanced CM lifetime. The results show that the DCCMA
scheme achieves better average CM lifetime as compared to compared to the CBLS
and MoGLS. At the lowest speed (36km/h), the average CM lifetime of the proposed
scheme is improved by 22% and 26% as compared with the MoGLS and CBLS

133
respectively. The increase in speed affects the performance of all schemes, however,
due to its improved CM affiliation scheme, the DCCMA showed better performance.
At the highest speed (108km/h), the DCCMA achieves 32% and 41% improved
average CM lifetime as compared to MoGLS and CBLS respectively as given in
Figure 5.5.

CBLS MoGLS DCCMA

200
180
Average CM Lifetime (sec)

160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
36 54 72 90 108
Maximun speed (km/h)

Figure 5.5 Average CM Lifetime at Different Maximum Speed

(b) Impact of density on Average CM lifetime

Figure 5.6 shows the performance of the DCCMA, MoGLS and CBLS
schemes in terms of average CM lifetime against the maximum number of the vehicles
in the network. In the CBLS scheme, only those vehicles affiliate with the CH, which
have maximum speed difference with the CH equal to 18km/h. Also, the maximum
number of vehicles in a cluster is limited to 20. In the MoGLS scheme, every vehicle
calculates its sojourn time and compares it with the with the fixed threshold value that
is 62.5 seconds. Only those vehicles affiliate with the CH whose sojourn time is greater
than 62.5. Although the existing schemes attempted to improve the CM lifetime by
synchronizing the speed and sojourn time with the CH, however, the number of
isolated vehicles in the network increases due to the fixed threshold values. Moreover,
the CM lifetime is affected due to CH instability and due to considering instantaneous
values of the speed. The isolated vehicles continuously send CM affiliation messages

134
continuously to affiliate with the clusters. These issues are further magnified with the
increase in the density of the vehicles. The network congestion and communication
contention increase. The collision and loss of the messages increase which reduces the
lifetime of the existing CMs.

In the proposed DCCMA scheme, the isolated vehicles are minimized by

making the CM affiliation scheme more flexible and also utilizing the RSU to store
the location information of the isolated vehicles. The CM affiliation value depends on
the time intervals from the vehicle to CH and CH to RSU update intervals time. The
proposed DCCMA has registered better performance with the increase in density as
compared to its counterparts. At the lowest density (150 vehicles in the network), the
average CM lifetime of the proposed scheme is improved by 8% and 20% as compared
with the MoGLS and CBLS respectively. At the highest density (950 vehicles in the
network), the DCCMA achieves 43% and 57% improved average CM lifetime as
compared to MoGLS and CBLS respectively as given in Figure 5.6.

CBLS MoGLS DCCMA

180
160
Average CM Lifetime (sec)

140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
150 350 550 750 950
Maximun density

Figure 5.6 Average CM lifetime at Different Maximum Density

5.4.2 Fraction of Location Information Saved in the Location Servers

The fraction of vehicles saved in the location server is the number of vehicles
saved in the location table of the location servers divided by the real number of vehicles

135
in the map. It is important parameter to measure the performance of the location service
in vehicular networks. The vehicles are the entities whose position is maintained in the
location servers. The performance of the location service directly depends on the
number of vehicles saved in the CHs and RSUs, which are acting as location servers.
The fraction of the vehicles saved in the location servers depends on the performance
of the CM affiliation schemes. Figure 5.7 and 5.8 illustrate the performance
comparison of the DCCMA scheme against CBLS and MoGLS schemes in terms of
fraction of vehicles saved in the location servers.

(a) Impact of Speed on Fraction of Location Information Saved in the RSU

In the cluster-based location service, fraction of the vehicles saved in location

servers depends on the flexibility of the CM affiliation scheme. In the CBLS, CH
affiliates the vehicles as a CM whose speed difference is equal to 18km/h. The vehicles
whose speed difference greater than 18km/h could not join the cluster and their
positions could not be stored in the locations servers. Also, the speed difference is
based on the instantaneous values of the speed. In the MoGLS, the sojourn time
depends on the speed and distance of the vehicles. Every vehicle calculates its sojourn
time and compare it with the fixed threshold value; 62.5 seconds. Only those vehicles
can join the cluster whose value is greater than 62.5 seconds. Vehicles whose sojourn
time is less than the threshold value could not affiliate with the CH. These vehicles are
not affiliated with any location server. Moreover, the sojourn time is based on the
instantaneous values of the speed. With the increase in the speeds, the links of the CMs
with the CH breaks frequently which affects the location updates of these vehicles and
also reduces the number of the vehicles saved in the location server.

However, in the proposed scheme, the CM affiliation is based on the reliable

link with the CH. The reliable link is based on the CMAS which ensures the longer
time affiliation with the CH. The location updates improved. The results show that the
performance of the DCCMA is improved 9% and 15% (with maximum speed 36km/h)
and 18% and 26% (with maximum speed 108km/h) as compared to CBLS and MoGLS
respectively as shown in Figure 5.7.

136
 DCCMA MoGLS CBLS

Fraction of the Saved Information (%)

95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
36 54 72 90 108
Maximun speed (km/h)

Figure 5.7 Information Saved in the Location Server at Different Speed

(b) Impact of Density on Fraction of the Vehicles saved in the RSU

Figure 5.8 shows the performance of the DCCMA, MoGLS and CBLS
schemes in terms of fraction of the vehicles saved in location servers against the
location information of the vehicles saved in the network. In the CBLS scheme,
vehicles whose speed difference with the CH is greater than 18km/h could not affiliate
with the cluster. Furthermore, in the MoGLS schemes, vehicles whose sojourn time is
less than 62.5 seconds are unable to join the cluster. Due to fixed CM threshold values
in these schemes, the isolated vehicles in the network increases. These vehicles send
continuously send CM requests on the network to affiliate with the cluster causing
extra communication messages on the network which is further amplified with the
increase in density of vehicles. The network congestion increases which results in the
loss of CM location update messages.

The proposed DCCMA scheme showed better performance in high density due
to flexible and reliable CM affiliation scheme. The number of the isolated vehicles in
the DCCMA scheme reduces due to dynamic CM affiliation threshold and the stability
of the CM in cluster. Moreover, vehicles which could not find any CH in their range
and could not affiliate with the cluster sends their location information directly to the
nearest RSU. Figure 5.8 shows the performance of the three schemes in terms of

137
fraction of the vehicles saved in location servers against the number of the vehicles in
the network. The results show that the fraction of the vehicles saved in the location
servers is improved in the DCCMA scheme by 8% and 9% (with maximum 150
vehicles in the network) and 15% and 23% (with maximum vehicles 950 vehicles in
the network) as compared to CBLS and MoGLS respectively.

DCCMA MoGLS CBLS

Fraction of the Saved Information (%)

100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
150 350 550 750 950
Maximun density

Figure 5.8 Location Information Saved in Location Servers at Different Density

5.4.3 Query Success Rate

The query success rate is defined as the ratio of total queries to the correctly
responded ones. Query is initiated by a vehicle who needs the position of another
vehicle. Vehicle sends the query to its CH, if CH has the requested location, it responds
otherwise it fulfils the request by sending it to high level location server. Figure 5.9
and 5.10 show the query success rate comparison of DCCMA, CBLS and MoGLS.

(a) Impact of Speed on Query Success Rate

In the cluster-based location service, query depends on the reliability of the

location servers which includes the CH, RSU, the stability of the CH, CM and the
location updates. In the CBLS, location service depends on CH, intermediate server
and main server, which are all moving location servers. With the increase in speed, the

138
instability of these servers increases. The reliability of the CMs with the CH and the
location information of the vehicles saved in the location service reduces with the
increase in the vehicles. In the MoGLS scheme, due to unreliable links with the CM
that depends on the instantaneous values of the speed, the connections with the CH
increases with the increase in speed. In these schemes, the query success rate is
affected due to CH and CM instability. The location information saved in the RSU
decreases with the increase of the speed.

The query success rate of the proposed DCCMA scheme is improved with the
increase in the speed due to a reliable link with CH that is based on the CMAS. The
results show that the DCCMA scheme achieves better query success rate as compared
to its counterparts. The RDCMA scheme achieves 7% and 9% improved query success
rate (with maximum speed 36 km/h) and 13% and 17% (with maximum speed
108km/h) as compared to the CBLS and MoGLS respectively as shown in Figure 5.9.

DCCMA MoGLS CBLS

95
90
Query Success Rate (%)

85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
36 54 72 90 108
Maximun speed (km/h)

Figure 5.9 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Speed

(b) Impact of Density on Query Success Rate

Figure 5.10 shows the performance of the DCCMA, MoGLS and CBLS
schemes in terms of query success rate against the number of the vehicles in the
network. In CBLS and MoGLS, the number of isolated vehicles increases due to CM

139
affiliation mechanisms. These vehicles continuously send CM request to neighbouring
CHs. These messages further increase with large densities. The network congestion
and communication contention on the channels increase. The collision of the messages
increases which results in the loss of messages. The query success rate of the CBLS
decreases with the increase in density due to high contention and congestion on the
network.

In the proposed DCCMA scheme, effect of the density reduces due to decrease
in isolated vehicles. This is because of the dynamic and reliable CM affiliation
schemes. The query success rate showed reasonable stability in the increased density.
The DCCMA scheme achieves 10% and 14% improved query success rate (with
maximum 150 vehicles in the network) and 17% and 24% (with maximum 950
vehicles in the network) as compared to the CBLS and MoGLS respectively.

DCCMA MoGLS CBLS

95
90
85
Query Success Rate (%)

80
75
70
65
60
55
50
150 350 550 750 950
Maximun density

Figure 5.10 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Density

5.5 Summary

In this chapter, a DCCMA scheme improved the performance of the location

service by enhancing cluster stability. The DCCMA scheme enhanced the cluster
stability by affiliating a vehicle with the cluster and by considering the link status with

140
the CH. Moreover, in the proposed scheme, the isolated vehicles were reduced by
proposing dynamic threshold values instead of static values. Also, in the absence of
the nearby CH, the isolated vehicles updated the location information directly to the
RSU without announcing itself as a CH. This contributed, in improving the
performance of the location service by enhancing the cluster stability. The
performance of the DCCMA mainly depended on the CM lifetime. The CM lifetime
of DCCMA at 36km/h is 173 seconds as compared to MoGLS and CBLS CM lifetimes
142 seconds and 137 seconds respectively. The CM lifetime of DCCMA is improved
due to CMAS and dynamic threshold values. The high value of CM lifetime indicated
that a CM remains affiliated with a CH for a longer time. The location of CMs were
updated to CH efficiently. The location information of CMs in location servers
increases, which ultimately enhance the performance of the location service in terms
of fraction of vehicles location information saved in location servers and query success
rate. Due to rapid and unpredictable topological changes in VANETs, there is no
baseline and upper line for acceptable performance. A CM may leave the affiliation
soon after joining a cluster due to collision or delay of Beacon Messages (CM) with
CM lifetime 0. The CM lifetime depends on CM affiliation scheme. The higher values
of CM showed a long life affiliation with the CH. Simulation results showed that the
DCCMA scheme significantly improved the performance of the location service in
terms of increasing cluster member lifetime by an average of 31%, increasing the
fraction of the vehicles saved in the location servers by 16% and increasing the query
success rate by 14%.

141
 OPTIMIZED CLUSTER MAINTENANCE SCHEME

6.1 Introduction

This chapter presents an Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM) scheme that

addresses the existing cluster merging and cluster splitting issues. The cluster
maintenance is a continuous process that monitors the stability of the existing clusters
and performs maintenance accordingly to ensure the cluster stability. The objective of
the OCM scheme is to improve the performance of the location service by enhancing
the cluster stability. The stability of the cluster is improved by cluster merging and
cluster splitting algorithms. Section 6.2 describes the overview of the OCM scheme.
Section 6.3 presents the design, flowchart, and pseudo code of the cluster merging and
cluster splitting algorithms. In section 6.4, a comprehensive performance evaluation
of the OCM scheme is presented and compared to state-of-art schemes in terms of
query success rate, query response delay and localization error. Finally, section 6.5
summarizes and concludes this chapter.

6.2 Overview of the Proposed OCM Scheme

The performance of the location service depends on the effective cluster

merging and splitting algorithms. As discussed in subsections 1.2.3 and 2.6, the
dynamic generation of clusters causes the small clusters to co-exist in neighbouring
area. In the overlapping area, Cluster Members (CMs) receive unnecessary messages
from multiple CHs. Along with that, the location updates and location queries are
affected due the collision and loss of messages.

It has been observed from the past literature that all roads have intersections
at the different positions of the roads. The vehicles in the cluster disbands into different

143
directions on reaching the intersection due to their different destinations. The Cluster
Head (CH) of the cluster move only in one direction while leaving the CMs in other
directions without any CH. The cluster instability increases around the intersection.
Existing studies split the cluster into three clusters after entering the intersection area
and reclustering after leaving the intersection area. The clustering process is triggered
twice after entering and after leaving the intersection area. These studies even
reclustered the stable cluster in the intersection area. The splitting is performed at the
cost of cluster instability due to unnecessary clustering. Furthermore, new CHs are
elected without considering the link status with high level location servers. Table 6.1
differentiates the existing and proposed OCM scheme.

Table 6.1 Comparison Of Existing Schemes and Proposed OCM Scheme

Existing Schemes Proposed Schemes

Merging is not stable due to non-optimum Merging is stabilized by optimizing

merging conditions. merging threshold time and merging
distance.
Existing cluster is clustered after entering Existing cluster is maintained in
the intersection area and reclustered after addition to forming two clusters for the
leaving the intersection area. other two directions after entering the
intersection area and no reclustering
after leaving the intersection area
considering the destination parameter.
In cluster merging and splitting, the CH is The CHs of the splitted clusters and
not based on the reliable link with the merged clusters are based on the
RSU. reliable link with the RSU.

Therefore, an Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM) is incorporated that

addresses the aforementioned issues effectively. Existing studies has improved the
cluster stability while enhancing merging algorithms but still there is need to improve
the existing algorithms while optimizing merging conditions and considering reliable
link while electing the CH of merged cluster. In the proposed OCM scheme splitting
is performed only after clusters enter the intersection area exploiting the destination

144
information and reliable link of the CMs. New CHs are elected while considering the
destination and reliable link with the location servers.

6.3 Design of the OCM Scheme

The OCM scheme enhances the performance of the location service by

improving cluster stability through enhancing cluster merging and splitting. The detail
design of the cluster merging and cluster splitting is given in the following sections.

6.3.1 Design of Cluster Merging Algorithm

Referring to Figure 6.1, the flowchart explains the overall working of the
cluster merging algorithm where the blue colored blocks refer to the contribution of
this research. The algorithm 6.1 explains the overall procedure of the cluster merging.
CHs send and receive Beacon Messages (BMs) to share their information. The CH
with the highest id invokes the merging process by sending merging requests to CHs
which have same road Identity (ID) and direction. Upon receiving the
acknowledgements from the neighbouring CHs, the CH initiates the merging process
and computes the merging conditions (Lines 1-11, Algorithm 6.1). The combination
of the road ID and direction ensures that CHs are moving on the same road and in the
same direction. Otherwise, CH moving in the same direction but onto another parallel
road will also participate in the cluster merging which will result into temporary and
unreliable merging that further enhance the cluster instability.

In most of existing studies, the merging is started when all of the CMs are in
the range of each other. It happens when one CH is moving faster as compared to other.
Although merging is completed, however, it does not ensure a stable merging due to
difference of speeds. In the proposed cluster merging algorithm, when the distance
between two CHs is less than or is equal to R as given in the Equation 6.1 and shown
in Figure 6.2, the merging is invoked because it ensures that half of the both cluster
overlap each other.

145
Figure 6.1 Flowchart of the Cluster Merging

146
 Figure 6.2 Overlapping Range of Two Clusters

𝑑((𝐶𝐻(𝑚), 𝐶𝐻(𝑝)) ≤ 𝑅 (6.1)

The time during which overlapping CHs wait before the start of the cluster
merging is called Merging Threshold Time (MTT) represented by Tmerge. In the
existing studies Tmerge relies on a fixed value or location update interval of one CH
which lead to unreliable merging. The location update interval is the time in which
every CH periodically updates the location of its CMs to RSU. Tmerge is not sufficient
to ensure a valid merging. The Tmerge time should be defined with minimum limits such
that the participating CHs may contact with the higher-level location server to update
the location information of their CMs. It also confirms that RSU receives location
information from multiple CH within the same overlapping area which increase extra
communication overhead and management functions to RSU. Therefore, to make
stable merging, the Tmerge depends on the update interval of both merging CHs which
is an enhanced version of the existing studies, as defined in Equation 6.2.

𝑇𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒 ≥ (𝑈𝐼_𝐶𝐻(𝑚)) ∗ (𝑈𝐼_𝐶𝐻(𝑝)) (6.2)

If CHs remain in the range of each other up to Tmerge, then the merging process
will start. Although, the existing condition certifies that the merging CHs remain in
the range of each other but it did not ensure that merging clusters move towards each
other or move away from each other. If during Tmerge, the merging clusters move away
from each other, the merging process will be started and completed during Tmerge which
results in temporary and unreliable merging. In the proposed cluster merging
algorithm, a new condition is included that depends on the distance at the start of the
Tmerge and the end of the Tmerge.

147
 Previous Distance (PD) is calculated at the start of the Tmerge using the Equation
6.3 and Current Distance (CD) is calculated at the end of the Tmerge based on the
Equation 6.4. Equation 6.5 is the combined version of Equation 6.3 and Equation 6.4.
Equation 6.5 guarantees that merging CHs move towards each other. The merging of
the clusters is started subject to the execution of the conditions defined by Equation
6.1,6.2 and 6.5. The optimized merging conditions ensure a reliable cluster merging as
compared to the existing studies.

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑒 = 𝑑((𝐶𝐻(𝑖), 𝐶𝐻(𝑗)) 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 (6.3)

𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝑑((𝐶𝐻(𝑖), 𝐶𝐻(𝑗)) 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑙 (6.4)

𝐶𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 ≤ 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑒 (6.5)

If the merging conditions are not satisfied, existing clusters do not merge and
move with their CMs (Lines 12-24, Algorithm 6.1).

After merging, the next step is to nominate the CH of the merged cluster from
the existing CHs. Every involving CH computes its RLT using Equation 6.6. The CH
which has highest RLT is elected as a CH of merged cluster (Lines 25-36, Algorithm
6.1).

𝑅 − | DRSU – DCH(m) | 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛( △ 𝑑) (6.6)

𝑅𝐿𝑇𝑝 =
1 𝑇
∑
𝑇 𝑝=0 |𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑚) – 𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑝) |

The new CH registers with the RSU, advertises itself as a new CH and sends
CM requests messages. The CH affiliates the CMs and updates their location in the
location table. Then new CH sends the location information of its CMs to the nearest
RSU as shown in Figure 6.2 (Lines 37-44, Algorithm 6.1).

148
 In the proposed cluster merging algorithm, the Tmerge and overlapping distance
at the start and end of Tmerge are optimized which ensures a stable merging. Moreover,
the CH of the merged cluster is elected from the existing CHs based on the higher RLT
with the RSU. The collision and delay of the location updates and location queries are
reduced due to optimized cluster merging.

Algorithm 6.1: Optimized Cluster Merging

Input:
C: Cluster
CH: Cluster Heads
CMs: Cluster Members
RSU: Road Side Unit
Output:
Merged cluster
Start
1 CHs send and receive BMs to share information
2 CH(m) // CH with highest id
3 V= Number of CHs in neighbour table of CH(m)
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐷𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑚) .𝐷𝑉 ⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐶𝐻(𝑟)
4 𝜙(CH(m) ,𝐶𝐻(𝑟)) = 𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑠 |𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ ||𝐷𝑉
⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ |
∀ rɛV
𝐶𝐻(𝑚) 𝐶𝐻(𝑟)
5 T=1
6 For (w=1; w ≤ V; w++)
7 If ((𝜙 ≤ π/4 and CH(m)_Road-ID == CH(r)_Road-ID))
8 T++
9 Else merging is not possible
10 End if
11 End For
12 T= Number of CHs in neighbour table of CH(m) with same direction and road id
13 If (T >1)
14 CH(m) sends merging request
15 CH(m) receive merging acknowledgement
16 For (p=1; p ≤ T; p++)
17 If ((((d(CH(m), CH (p)) ≤ R) Ʌ (Tmerge ≥ UI-CH(m)*UI-CH(p))
18 Ʌ (PD ≤ID)))
𝑅 −| DRSU –DCH(m) | 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛( △𝑑)
19 𝑅𝐿𝑇𝑝 = 1 𝑇
∑ |𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑚) –𝑉𝐶𝐻(𝑝) |
𝑇 𝑝=1
20 Every CH sends its RLT to the CH(m)
21 Merging_array[p]=RLTp // Store the RLT values of CHs
22 Else Merging is not possible
23 End if
24 End For
25 D= Sizeof (Merging_array [])
26 If (D=0)
27 Merging is not possible
28 Else
29 Maximum_RLT= Merging_array [0];

149
 30 For ( p=1; p ≤ D; y++)
31 If(Merging_array[p] > Maximum_RLT)
32 Maximum_RLT=Merging_array[p]
33 Else CH(p) has a lower value
34 End if
35 End For
3 6 Maximum_RLT is elected as CH for the merged cluster
3 7 CH(p) register itself with the nearest RSU
3 8 CH(p) sends CM advertisement messages
3 9 CMs reply acknowledge messages
4 0 CH(p) affiliate new CMs
4 1 CH(p) sends location information to RSU
42 return merged cluster
43 End if
44 Else Merging is not possible
4 5 End if
End

6.3.2 Design of the Cluster Splitting Algorithm

Referring to Figure 6.3, the flowchart explains the overall working of the
splitting algorithm, where the blue colored blocks refer to the contribution of this
research. The algorithm 6.2 explains the overall procedure of the splitting. Every
vehicle gets its Relative Destination (RD) through the usage of the digital map. The
RD locate the next approaching intersection in the route of each vehicle. Moreover,
the turning direction of each vehicle is determined through RD. Therefore, vehicles
have advance information about their turning directions. Vehicles send and receive
beacon messages to share location information. The area equal to radius (½)R, from
the centre of every intersection is designated as intersection area, where R is the
communication range as shown in Figure 6.4. After entering the intersection area,
existing CH advertises its ID and RD and turning direction on the basis of RD (lines
1-5, Algorithm 6.2). After advertising its RD and turning direction, the CH starts the
process to elect CHs for remaining directions. The CMs of CH compute their RLT
value using Equation 6.7. The RLT metric ensures that a stable vehicle which has
highest reliability with the RSU is elected as a CH for a particular direction. Every CM
sends its RLT and RD to CH. The existing CH forms two groups on the basis of RD
(lines 6-10, Algorithm 6.2). The existing CH compares the RLT and RD of each CM,
and elects two CHs for other two directions on the basis of highest RLT and RD.

150
Figure 6.3 Flow Chart of the Splitting Algorithm

151
 Figure 6.4 Cluster Splitting Around the Intersection

𝑅 − | DRSU – DVj) | 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛( △ 𝑑) (6.7)

𝑅𝐿𝑇 =
1 𝑛−1
∑
𝑁 𝑗=0 |𝑣𝑚) – 𝑣𝑗) |

where R is the communication range, | DRSU – DVj | is the distance between RSU and
CMj, |𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛( △ 𝑑) | is a sign function whose value is -1 when CM is approaching
RSU and 1 when CM is moving away from the RSU; and |𝑣𝑚 – 𝑣𝑗 | represents the speed
difference between CMm and CMj (Lines 11-35, Algorithm 6.2)..
New CH register itself with the nearest RSU. After registering, CH sends CM
advertisement messages. The CMs in the range of new CH reply with the
acknowledgement messages. The CH affiliates the CMs and updates their location in
the location table. Then new CH sends the location information of its CMs to the
nearest RSU (lines 36-41, Algorithm 6.2).

Algorithm 6.2: Optimized Cluster Splitting

Input:
C: Cluster
CH: Cluster Head
CMs: Cluster Members
RSU: Road Side Unit
Output:
Splitted Cluster
Start
1 CH(i), CM(j) // CH with id (i) and CM(j) send and receive BMs
2 If (d(CH(i), CoI)) ≤ ½(R)
3 CH(i) advertise its ID, Relative destination and turn direction

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 4 Else go to line 1
5 End if
6 Every CM(j) send its RLT and relative destination to CH(i)
𝑅 −| DRSU –DVj | 𝑆𝑖𝑔𝑛( △𝑑) |
7 𝑅𝐿𝑇𝐶𝑀(𝑚) = 1 𝑛−1
∑
𝑁 𝑗=0
|𝑣𝑚 –𝑣𝑗 |
8 N= number of CMs in the neighbour table of CH(i)
9 Destination-B-Array[]=RLT.CM(m) // array of CMs having same direction-B
10 Destination-C-Array[]=RLT.CM(m) // array of CMs having same direction-C
11 P= Sizeof (Destination-B-Array [])
12 If (P=0)
13 No any CM for this direction
14 Else
15 CH-B=Destination-B-Array[0] // CH-election for direction -B
16 For ( y=1; y ≤ P; y++)
17 If (Destination-B-Array[y] > CH-B)
18 CH-B=Destination-B-Array[y]
19 Else CM has lower LLT
20 End if
21 End For
22 End if
23 CH(i) Advertise CH-B as a CH for Destination-B // CH for Direction-B
24 Q= Sizeof (Destination-C-Array [])
25 If (Q=0)
26 No any CM for this direction
27 Else
28 CH-C=Destination-C-Array[0] // CH-election for direction -C
29 For ( x=1; x ≤ Q; x++)
30 If (Destination-C-Array[x] > CH-C)
31 CH-C=Destination-C-Array[x]
32 Else CM has lower LLT
33 End if
34 End For
35 End if
36 CH(i) Advertise CH-C as a CH for Destination-C // CH for Direction-C
37 CH-B, CH-C sends CM advertisement messages
38 CMs reply acknowledge the advertisement messages
39 CH-B, CH-C affiliate new CMs and update their information in location table
40 CH-B, CH-C sends location information to RSU
41 return split clusters
End

In the existing schemes, clustering is performed after entering the intersection

area. Even the CH of existing stable cluster is re-elected. These new clusters are again
reclustered after leaving the intersection area. The unnecessary clustering increases the
cluster instability. In the proposed optimized cluster merging algorithm, clustering
exploits the RLT and RD to elect new CHs. The existing CH is maintained while

153
electing CHs for remaining directions. The same CHs perform the clustering functions
after leaving the intersection. In the optimized cluster splitting, the ratio of reclustering
is reduced at each intersection. Also, the extra CH election communication overhead
decreases. The rate of change of CHs around the intersection is reduced. Moreover,
the new CHs are elected on the basis of link reliability with the RSU. These
enhancements have positive effect on the performance of the location service.

6.4 Performance Evaluation of the OCM Scheme

The performance of the OCM is evaluated and compared with existing cluster-
based location service schemes such as HCBLS, CBLS and MoGLS. These schemes
are most related, latest, ISI indexed and designed specifically for the location service.
The OCM scheme depends on two algorithms such as cluster merging and cluster
splitting to provide cluster maintenance. These two algorithms are implemented
independently. The performance of OCM is measured by only cluster merging
algorithm or by cluster splitting algorithm or by the implementation of both algorithms
simultaneously based on the requirement of the cluster maintenance.

In HCBLS, the CH instability occurs due to fixed size road segments. A

separate CH is elected for each segment. In CBLS, the CH instability increases due to
undefined range and non-optimum limits of speed and distance. Moreover, the CH is
not stable with respect to its CMs and RSU. In MoGLS, CH is elected without
considering mobility parameters.

The CM instability in HCBLS increases due to static clusters. The CMs

affiliate with a new CH in each cluster. The lifetime of CM is affected due to CH
instability. In CBLS, only those vehicles affiliate with the CH, whose speed difference
is less than 18km/h. The number of isolated vehicles increases due to difference of
speed between CH and CM. Also, the CM affiliation depends on instantaneous value
of the speed.

154
 The CBLS and HCBLS schemes only proposed CH election and CM
affiliation schemes while overlooked the cluster maintenance. The MoGLS scheme
has improved the stability of the cluster by introducing cluster merging algorithm, but
the problem of the cluster splitting around the intersection is still not proposed. In the
existing studies, due to the clustering and reclustering around the intersection, the CH
election schemes, unreliability of the CH with the location server and the cluster
instability increases. The performance of the cluster-based location is affected in terms
of the QSR, QRD and LE.

However, OCM scheme has presented an enhanced CH election, CM affiliation

and optimized clustering splitting and cluster merging algorithms which has improved
the performance of the location service by increasing cluster stability. The
performance evaluation of the proposed OCM scheme is analyzed in following
subsections.

6.4.1 Query Success Rate

The query success rate is defined as the ratio of total queries to the correctly
responded ones. It is an important parameter to measure the performance of the
location service in vehicular networks. In the cluster-based location service, query
success rate depends on the reliability of the location servers, fractions of vehicles
location information saved in the location servers, stability of the CH and CM and on
the efficiency of the cluster maintenance schemes Figure 6.5 and Figure 6.6 shows the
query success rate comparison of RCHE, CBLS and HCBLS.

(a) Impact of Speed on Query Success Rate

Figure 6.5 shows the performance of the OCM, MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS
schemes in terms of query success rate against the high speed of the vehicles in the
network. HCBLS is based on static clustering. When vehicles move faster, the lifetime
of each CH and CM in a segment reduces. In each segment, every CM affiliates with

155
a new CH. The instability of the CH as well as of the CM increases. In the CBLS,
location service depends on CH, intermediate server and main server, which are all
moving location servers. With the increase in speed, the instability of these servers
increases which decrease the query success rate. In the MoGLS scheme, the query
success rate is affected due to instability of the CH and reduced lifetime of the CM.

The query success rate of the proposed OCM scheme is improved at higher
speeds due to stability of CHs and CMs, reliable links with the CH and RSU; and
efficient cluster maintenance schemes. The results show that the OCM scheme
achieves better query success rate as compared to counterparts. The OCM scheme
achieves 8%, 12% and 22% improved query success rate (with maximum speed 36
km/h) and 21%, 29% and 39% (with maximum speed 108km/h) as compared to the
MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS respectively as shown in Figure 6.5.

OCM MoGLS CBLS HCBLS

100
95
Query Success Rate (%)

90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
36 54 72 90 108
Maximun speed (km/h)

Figure 6.5 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Speed

(b) Impact of Density on Query Success Rate

Figure 6.6 shows the performance of the OCM, MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS
schemes in terms of query success rate against the number of the vehicles in the
network. In the HCBLS, query success rate is improved as compared to speed. With
the increase in density, the CH and CM stay in the segments for more time. The

156
lifetime of the CH and CM increases, however it is limited to segment lengths. Due to
frequent change of CHs and CMs, the query success rate decreases. In the CBLS and
MoGLS schemes, the number of isolated vehicles increases due to CH and CM
schemes. Isolated vehicles continuously send CM affiliation messages to join a cluster.
With the increase of density, the network congestion and contention increases. The
query success rate of the both schemes decreases. However, the MoGLS scheme shows
better performance due to the inclusion of cluster merging algorithm in the cluster
maintenance.

The proposed OCM scheme showed better performance with the increase of
density, due to defining CHER, reliable links with the RSU and CMs and including
cluster merging and cluster splitting algorithms in the cluster maintenance scheme.
The OCM scheme achieves 13%, 14% and 23% improved query success rate (with
maximum density 150) and 26%, 30% and 32% (with maximum density 950) as
compared to the MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS respectively.

OCM MoGLS CBLS HCBLS

100
95
Query Success Rate (%)

90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
150 350 550 750 950
Maximun Density

Figure 6.6 Query Success Rate at Different Maximum Density

157
6.4.2 Average Query Response Delay

The delay indicates the required time to process a source request and to respond
back to it. It is an important parameter to measure the performance of the location
service in vehicular networks. The main objective of the location service is to provide
the fresh locations of vehicles. The freshness of locations is compromised with the
increase of delay. Figure 6.7 and 6.8 show the delay comparison of RCHE, CBLS and
HCBLS.

(a) Impact of Speed on Average Query Response Delay

The HCBLS scheme is based on static clustering, the rate of change of CH and
CMs increases with the increase in speed. The instability of the CH and CMs increases,
due to which delay also increases. In the CBLS, the instability of the CH and CMs
increases due to non-optimum limits of speed and distance, unreliable links of the CH
with the RSU and CMs. In the MoGLS scheme, the communication links between CH
and CMs and between CH and RSU breaks frequently due to the CH and CM
instability. With the increase in the speed, the instability of the CHs and CMs causes
more disconnections in the network which mean that more control messages
transmitted to again form the cluster again which affects the query response delay
negatively.

The proposed OCM scheme has shown better performance in terms of the
query response delay, in the increased mobility due to the enhanced stability of the
CH, CM and cluster maintenance schemes. The results represent that the OCM scheme
has less delay as compared to counterparts. The OCM scheme has reduced delay by
14%, 17% and 25% (with maximum speed 36 km/h) and 17%, 23% and 29% (with
maximum speed 108km/h) as compared to the MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS
respectively as shown in Figure 6.7.

158
 OCM MoGLS CBLS HCBLS

500

450
Query Response Delay(ms)
400

350

300

250

200

150
36 54 72 90 108
Maximun Speed(km/h)

Figure 6.7 Query Response Delay at Different Maximum Speed

(b) Impact of Density on Query Response Delay

Figure 6.8 shows the performance of the OCM, MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS
schemes in terms of query response delay against the number of the vehicles in the
network. In the HCBLS, query response delay has improved as compared to speed.
This is so because of the stability of the CHs and CMs in high density. The election
and affiliation of the CHs and CMs does not involve too much control signalling.
However, the lifetime of the CHs and CMs is limited to length of the segment. In each
segment, the CMs affiliate to a new CH. Due to the instability of the CH and CMs, the
query response delay is affected. In the CBLS and MoGLS schemes, due to fixed CM
affiliation threshold values, a number of vehicles could not affiliate to any cluster.
These isolated vehicles further increase with the increase of the density. These
schemes are proposed without considering the reliable link with the RSU and cluster
maintenance schemes except the MoGLS which included the cluster merging
algorithm. Due to these issues, the cluster instability increases. The network
congestion and communication contention on the channels increases, which increases
the delay.

The performance of the proposed OCM scheme is improved because of the

stability of the CH, CM, reliable links with the RSU and providing cluster maintenance
through cluster merging and cluster splitting algorithms. The OCM scheme achieves

159
15%, 17% and 28% improved query response delay (with maximum density 150) and
25%, 28% and 29% (with maximum density 950) as compared to the MoGLS, CBLS
and HCBLS respectively.

OCM MoGLS CBLS HCBLS

Query Response Delay(ms)

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150
150 350 550 750 950
Maximun Density

Figure 6.8 Query Response Delay at Different Maximum Density

6.4.3 Average Localization Error

Localization error is the difference between current position of the vehicle at

any time t and position of the vehicle saved at the location server. It describes the
freshness of the location saved in the location server. It is the average of localization
error of n vehicles. The localization error depends on the performance of the location
update schemes which relies on the stability of the CH, CM, link reliability of the CH
with the location server and with the CMs and deployment of the location servers.
Figure 6.9 and Figure 6.10 demonstrates the performance comparison of the OCM
scheme against MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS.

(a) Impact of Speed on Localization Error

In the HCBLS, the location updates are affected due to the frequent change of
CHs and CMs. Also, the CH depends on the intermediate vehicles or CHs to update
the location information of the vehicles to the nearest RSU. With the increase in the

160
speed, the instability of these servers increases which delays the location updates and
ultimately the localization error increases. The CBLS relies on moving vehicles to play
the role of lowest level location server, the Intermediate Server (IS) and the Main
Servers (MS). With the increase in the speed, the communication links between these
servers break frequently which ultimately affects the location updates. The location
updates in the MoGLS scheme are affected due to instantaneous values of the speed
and unreliable links with the location servers. The instability of the CH and CM
increases at higher speed which increases the delay in the location updates and hence
increases localization error.

The proposed OCM scheme depends on reliable links with the CH and the
higher level location servers. The stability of the CH and CM is improved through
using CH election range, CMAS (Cumulative Moving Average Speed) and dynamic
threshold values. The performance of the location updates increases which reduces the
localization error. The OCM scheme achieves 20%, 27% and 46% improved
localization error (with maximum speed 36 km/h) and 33%, 40% and 50% (with
maximum speed 108km/h) as compared to the MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS
respectively as given in Figure 6.9.

OCM MoGLS CBLS HCBLS

40
Average Localization Error(m)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
36 54 72 90 108
Maximum Speed (km/h)

Figure 6.9 Localization Error at Different Maximum Speed

161
(b) Impact of density on Localization Error

Figure 6.10 shows the performance of the OCM, MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS
schemes in terms of average LE (Localization Error) against the maximum number of
the vehicles in the network. The LE in the HCBLS scheme is improved as compared
to LE based on speed due to increase in the density in the network. The lifetime of the
CH and CM is increased in each segment due to obstacles of more vehicles. Due to the
stability of the CH and CMs, the performance of the location updates is increased
which ultimately reduce the localization error. However, due to limitation of the
segments size, the number of the CH increases; and also CMs switch CH frequently,
so the performance of the localization error is restricted. In the CBLS and MoGLS,
due to fixed threshold values, the number of isolated vehicles increases. These isolated
vehicles continuously send CM request to join a cluster. With the increase in density,
the network congestion and communication contention in the network increases. This
leads to losing location update messages and failing in providing updated traffic status
information. MoGLS shows better performance as compared to HCBLS and CBLS at
high density due to including merging algorithm.

In the proposed OCM scheme, due to reliable links of the CH with the CMs
and RSU, reduced isolated vehicles, optimized cluster merging and cluster splitting in
the cluster maintenance, the performance of the location updates is improved which
ultimately reduces the localization error. The OCM scheme achieves 25%, 35% and
43% improved localization error (with maximum 150 vehicles in the network) and
41%, 46% and 50% (with maximum speed 950 vehicles in the network) as compared
to the MoGLS, CBLS and HCBLS respectively.

162
 OCM MoGLS CBLS HCBLS

40

Average Localization Error(m)

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
150 350 550 750 950
Maximum Density

Figure 6.10 Localization Error at Different Maximum Density

6.5 Summary

In this chapter, an OCM scheme improved the performance of the location

service by enhancing the cluster stability. The OCM scheme enhanced the cluster
stability by introducing two algorithms. The first cluster merging algorithm merged
the neighbouring clusters by optimizing the merging conditions and electing the CH
of the merged cluster based on the reliable link with the RSU. The second cluster
splitting algorithm splitted the existing cluster into three sub clusters based on the
destination by reducing the unnecessary clustering in the existing studies. Simulation
results showed that the OCM scheme has significant improvements in terms of the
QSR by 34%, reducing the QRD by 24%, and decreasing the LE by 35% through
increasing the cluster stability and hence improving the performance of the location
service.

163
 CONCLUSION

7.1 Overview

A location service is used to keep up-to-date records of current positions of

vehicles. Cluster-based location service depends on clusters to provide the location of
vehicles. However, locating vehicles’ positions and maintaining an accurate view of
the entire network are quite challenging tasks due to the high number of vehicles, high
and fast vehicles mobility, unreliable links between vehicles, rapid topological changes
and sudden network disconnections which results in cluster instability. Cluster
instability adversely affects the performance of the location service. Therefore, finding
solutions to overcome the cluster instability is a real requirement of the VANETs. This
research addresses the problem of cluster instability in the location service with
reference to the CH instability, CM instability, and non-optimized cluster maintenance
schemes. The main contribution of this research is the development of an Enhanced
Stability of Cluster-based Location Service (ESCLS) mechanism which is an
integrated outcome of three schemes namely: RCHE, DCCMA and OCM while
addressing the previously mentioned problems. The ESCLS improved the
performance of the location service by increasing cluster stability. This chapter
summarizes the work presented in this research. Section 7.2 discusses the research
achievement. Section 7.3 highlights the limitations of the proposed mechanism.
Moreover, the future research directions are suggested in section 7.4.

7.2 Research Achievements

The focus of this research was to develop ESCLS mechanism to enhance the
performance of the location service through improving cluster stability. The main
function of the location service is to maintain the location of vehicles. The CH stores

165
the locations of its CMs. The performance of the location service depends on the
stability of the CH, CM and optimum cluster maintenance schemes. The cluster
stability is improved by enhancing the CH lifetime, CM lifetime and maintaining the
cluster by optimizing the cluster splitting and cluster merging. This research has
focused on improving the cluster stability while keeping in view the inherited
characteristics of VANETs such as vehicles high mobility and limited communication
links lifetime. The CH lifetime is improved in the proposed RCHE scheme (chapter 4)
while considering the cluster formation range and link reliability with the RSU.
Moreover, this research has enhanced the CM lifetime by developing DCCMA scheme
(chapter 5) which depends on reliable link with the CH and dynamic CM affiliation
threshold values. In addition, after the cluster formation, the OCM scheme (chapter 6)
is developed to enhance the cluster stability. The subsections 7.2.1, 7.2.2 and 7.2.3
summarize the research contributions.

7.2.1 Reliable Cluster Head Election (RCHE) Scheme

The RCHE scheme is proposed to address the research questions (i) as given
in section 1.4. Existing cluster-based location service schemes focused on location
update and location query schemes while overlooked the optimization of the cluster
stability. The number of vehicles participating in the CH election process is a very
important prerequisite of cluster formation. The Cluster Head Election Value (CHEV)
is affected due to undefined cluster formation range which leads to unreliable and
incomplete CHEV. Also, every CH, which is also acting as a lower-level location
server, updates the location information of its CMs to RSU. The location updates are
affected due to unreliable link between the CH and the RSU. Due to the above
mentioned issues, cluster instability increases which ultimately degrades the
performance of the location service. The main contribution of the RCHE scheme is the
optimization of the cluster formation range before the election of the CH and
considering a reliable link with the RSU. The CH lifetime is improved which
ultimately enhances the performance of the location service performance in terms of
Query Success Rate (QSR) and Query Response Delay (QRD).

166
7.2.2 Dynamic Cumulative Cluster Member Affiliation (DCCMA) Scheme

In the cluster-based location service, CM is the vehicle whose position is

maintained. The key requirement for the performance of the location service is the
stability of the CM in a cluster. In the existing cluster-based location schemes, CM
switches between different clusters frequently due to unreliable link between CM and
CH. The instantaneous values of speed are considered while computing link lifetime.
Furthermore, CM joining threshold values depend on fixed values. Due to above
mentioned issues, not only the lifetime of a CM in a cluster is decreased but isolated
vehicles in the network also increases. The DCCMA scheme is proposed to address
the research question (ii) as given in Section 1.4. The main contribution of DCCMA
is to choose a reliable CH based on its Cumulative Moving Average Speed (CMAS)
instead of instantaneous speed. Also, in the proposed DCCMA scheme, CM affiliation
threshold value is more flexible due to its dependence on beacon message interval and
location update interval from CM to CH and CH to RSU respectively as compared to
fixed values. Moreover, if a vehicle is not in range of a CH or could not affiliate to any
CH, it updates its position directly to RSU. Therefore, DCCMA scheme improves the
lifetime of a CM in a cluster and reduces the isolated vehicles, thereby improving the
performance of the location service through increasing QSR and fraction of vehicles
saved in the location server.

7.2.3 Optimized Cluster Maintenance (OCM) Scheme

Once cluster is formed based on CH and CM, the next phase is the cluster
maintenance. Due to rapid mobility changes in VANETs, there is always a possibility
of overlapping of more than one clusters in neighbouring area. Also, around the
intersection, existing cluster splits into three clusters at the cost of clustering after
entering the intersection area and again reclustering after leaving the intersection area.
The cluster instability increases due to non-optimum cluster merging conditions,
unreliable links of merged and splitted CHs with the RSU and unnecessary clustering.
The OCM scheme is proposed to address the research question (iii) as given in section
1.4. The main contribution of the proposed scheme is to reduce the clustering around

167
the intersection by using destination information of each vehicle. The merging
conditions are optimized before the start of cluster merging. As each CH updates the
location information to RSU, so CH is elected based on the link status with RSU. The
stability of the cluster increases, which ultimately improves the performance of the
location service of QSR, QRD and Localization Error (LE).

The clustering approach depends on main three components such as CH

election, CM affiliation and cluster maintenance to improve the performance of
cluster-baled location service. The CH stability is improved by defining the cluster
formation range and enhancing the link reliability with the RSU and CMs
simultaneously. The CH lifetime of each cluster is improved. The CH not only updates
the locations of its CMs to higher-level server, but also respond the queries sent by
different CMs. Due to the increased stability of CH, the performance of the location
updates is improved. The ratio of the successful queries increases. The enhanced
stability, reduced the communication overhead, which decreased he collision and delay
of messages.

In the cluster-based location service, CM is the vehicle whose position is

maintained in the location servers. In the proposed DCCMA scheme, CM stability is
improved by considering Cumulative Moving Speed (CMAS) and dynamic threshold
values. The lifetime of a CM is improved which ensure that a CM remains affiliated
with CH for a longer time. The locations of CMs updated consistently. The collision
and delay of location update and location queries reduced which ultimately enhance
the performance of the location service.

The proposed OCM scheme improved the cluster stability by enhancing cluster
merging and cluster overlapping schemes. The performance of the cluster maintenance
depends on the stability of the CH and CM. In the existence of stable CHs and CMs,
OCM scheme further enhance the cluster stability by reducing contention and
congestion issues. The ratio of successful location updates and location queries
increased, which ultimately improved the query success rate, query response delay and
localization error.

168
 On the basis of aforementioned discussion, it is concluded that RCHE Scheme
enhance the cluster stability by improving CH stability, DCCMA increase the cluster
stability by improving CM stability. The OCM further strengthen the cluster stability
by optimizing cluster merging and cluster splitting. The overall combine impact of
these scheme is the enhanced performance of the location service in terms of query
success rate, query response delay and localization error.

7.3 Limitations of the ESCLS Mechanism

In this research, the proposed ESCLS location service mechanism is

simulation-based, which does not include real-time network scenarios. The network
model is limited to 6km x 6km with twenty deployed RSUs. The network model does
not include complex city topologies such as bridges, tunnels, and curved roads. Also,
the network model does not include U-turns. Furthermore, ESCLS mechanism
depends on Global Positioning System (GPS) to obtain the position of vehicles.
However, GPS signals are affected due to large buildings, tunnels and overhead
bridges which degrades the performance of the location service. This research has
considered similar type of vehicles (i.e. cars) to evaluate ESCLS mechanism.
However, in reality, roads are populated with different types of vehicles with different
speeds and with different density impacts. It would be more challenging to apply some
obstacles to the simulation scenario and watch the difference. The performance of
ESCLS in such situations needs to be investigated. Furthermore, this research does not
consider the impact of traffic lights at intersections. The performance of the ESCLS
mechanism needed to be explored while considering different traffic light scenarios.
In addition, the proposed mechanism assumes that all vehicles are equipped with
wireless communication devices. Nevertheless, in VANETs, early stage, this
assumption might be difficult to realize. Accordingly, the performance of ESCLS in
such situations needs to be investigated.

169
 7.4 Directions for Future Work

In this research work, the performance of the location service is improved by

focusing on the issues of cluster stability. However, this can be enhanced and extended
in several other aspects that are highlighted as follows.

Cluster-based location service depends on a hierarchical approach in which

every CH updates the fresh locations of vehicles to its higher-level servers. Location
update schemes are further needed to be enhanced to provide accurate and timely
location updates while using minimum resources.

Every vehicle that needs the location of another vehicle sends a query to its
CH. In VANETs, locations of the source and target vehicles change suddenly and
rapidly. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the existing location query schemes in
order to provide accurate and timely location services while considering the hierarchal
structure of the cluster-based location service.

Recently many studies have been proposed regarding the usage of cellular
technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and 5G in VANETs. In LTE, base
stations are designed and deployed while keeping the requirements of cellular
networks. The deployment of base stations as location servers in the context of the
location service, cluster formation challenges with reference to considering LTE
connection parameters and interfacing challenges of lowest-level servers with base
stations can be further explored.

In the recent years, researchers have explored the usage of Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (UAVs) to assist VANETs in performing and monitoring different functions.
A UAV may play the role of a moving location server by storing the current positions
of the vehicles. The performance of the location service increases with the usage of
mobile location servers that can provide wide coverage. However, there are yet
numerous challenges such as interfacing, communications, connectivity, mobility in
the implementation and integration of UAV-VANETs architecture.

170
 To meet the demanding requirements of the future ITS, cloud computing and
fog Computing are expected to be future candidate technologies for 5G VANETs. Fog
computing may play the role of lower-level servers to cater the location service
requirements towards the edge of the VANETs. Integration of the fog computing
towards the edge of network will improve the performance of the location service by
providing real time location service through minimizing location updates and location
query delay. Cloud servers can be used as a regional location server to store the
locations of vehicles. There is a need to consider different challenges with reference
to scheduling of location updates from lower level servers, location query responses,
accuracy and privacy of locations saved on location servers.

In VANETs, vehicles are exposed to different kinds of threats. Existing

location service schemes emphasize on the stability of the CH and CMs while
neglecting security aspects, however, it is very important to provide trusted location
information and to protect vehicles’ location information from attacks. Therefore,
security is a necessary requirement to be considered as a future work in clustering for
location service.

171
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 APPENDIX A

Sample Results

Table A.1 RCHE CH election results with varying speed and density 620

RCHE ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Average CH Lifetime (Seconds) 183 173 147 137 121
Query Success Rate (%) 81 79 78 71 63
Average Query Response Delay(ms) 254 267 289 301 323

Table A.2 RCHE CH election results with varying density and speed 40km/h

RCHE ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Average CH Lifetime (Seconds) 142 154 161 172 179
Query Success Rate (%) 78 76 73 72 71
Average Query Response Delay(ms) 284 301 323 334 339

Table A.3 CBLS CH election results with varying speed and density 620

CBLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Average CH Lifetime (Seconds) 153 141 121 108 93
Query Success Rate (%) 73 70 67 63 54
Average Query Response Delay(ms) 276 299 321 354 395

Table A.4 CBLS CH election results with varying density and speed 40km/h

CBLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Average CH Lifetime (Seconds) 128 125 123 121 113
Query Success Rate (%) 71 68 64 63 59
Average Query Response Delay(ms) 329 341 373 389 429

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 Table A.5 HCBLS CH election results with varying speed and density 620

HCBLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Average CH Lifetime (Seconds) 103 83 79 70 61
Query Success Rate (%) 67 65 61 58 50
Average Query Response Delay(ms) 319 365 387 399 437

Table A.6 HCBLS CH election results with varying density and speed 40km/h

HCBLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Average CH Lifetime (Seconds) 81 87 95 101 104
Query Success Rate (%) 53 54 55 56 58
Average Query Response Delay(ms) 353 376 399 417 437

Table A.7 DCCMA CM affiliation results with varying speed and density 620

DCCMA ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Average CM Lifetime (Seconds) 173 161 156 147 121
Fraction of location information 91 89 88 85 77
saved in the location servers (%)
Query Success Rate (%) 91 87 84 82 77

Table A.8 DCCMA CM affiliation results with varying density and speed 40km/h

DCCMA ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Average CM Lifetime (Seconds) 147 149 151 153 155
Fraction of location information 94 91 89 87 85
saved in the location servers (%)
Query Success Rate (%) 89 87 86 84 83

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 Table A.9 MoGLS CM affiliation results with varying speed and density 620

MoGLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Average CM Lifetime (Seconds) 142 134 123 118 92
Fraction of location information 91 89 88 85 77
saved in the location servers (%)
Query Success Rate (%) 85 79 77 73 68

Table A.10 MoGLS CM affiliation results with varying density and speed 40km/h

MoGLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Average CM Lifetime (Seconds) 137 132 129 121 109
Fraction of location information 87 83 79 77 74
saved in the location servers (%)
Query Success Rate (%) 81 78 76 73 71

Table A.11 CBLS CM affiliation results with varying speed and density 620

CBLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Average CM Lifetime (Seconds) 137 123 117 106 86
Fraction of location information 79 77 71 68 61
saved in the location servers (%)
Query Success Rate (%) 83 78 75 71 66

Table A.12 CBLS CM affiliation results with varying density and speed 40km/h

CBLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Average CM Lifetime (Seconds) 123 120 111 106 99
Fraction of location information 86 81 76 74 69
saved in the location servers (%)
Query Success Rate (%) 78 76 74 71 67

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Table A.13 OCM Cluster maintenance results with varying speed and density 620

OCM ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Query Success Rate ( %) 96 94 93 92 87
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 234 245 267 279 324
Average Localization Error (m) 8 11 12 13 18

Table A.14 OCM Cluster maintenance results with varying density and speed 40

OCM ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Query Success Rate ( %) 95 94 93 91 89
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 241 242 243 273 307
Average Localization Error (m) 9 10 12 15 17

Table A.15 MoGLS Cluster maintenance results with varying speed and density 620

MoGLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Query Success Rate ( %) 89 85 80 75 69
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 273 286 311 341 393
Average Localization Error (m) 10 15 18 21 28

Table A.16 MoGLS Cluster maintenance results with varying density and speed 40

MoGLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Query Success Rate ( %) 84 81 78 73 68
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 283 296 325 375 412
Average Localization Error (m) 12 15 21 27 29

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Table A.17 CBLS Cluster maintenance results with varying speed and density 620

CBLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Query Success Rate ( %) 86 82 78 73 67
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 281 301 330 357 423
Average Localization Error (m) 12 17 21 24 31

Table A.18 CBLS Cluster maintenance results with varying density and speed 40

CBLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Query Success Rate ( %) 82 78 74 71 66
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 291 304 345 393 425
Average Localization Error (m) 14 17 23 29 32

Table A.19 HCBLS Cluster maintenance results with varying speed and density 620

HCBLS ( varying speeds km/h) 36 54 72 90 108

Query Success Rate ( %) 79 77 74 70 61
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 311 331 367 391 456
Average Localization Error (m) 13 21 26 29 36

Table A.20 HCBLS Cluster maintenance results with varying density and speed 40

HCBLS ( varying densities ) 150 350 550 750 950

Query Success Rate ( %) 74 72 69 67 64
Average Query Response Delay (ms) 334 347 371 412 433
Average Localization Error (m) 16 21 27 32 34

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 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Journal with Impact Factor

1. Mujahid, M. A., Bakar, K. A., Darwish, T. S., & Zuhra, F. T. (2020). Cluster-
based location service schemes in VANETs: current state, challengesand future
directions. Telecommunication Systems, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11235-
020-00732-3. (Q3, IF: 2.314)
Indexed Journal
1. Mujahid, M. A., Bakar, K. B. A., Darwish, T. S., Zuhra, F., Ejaz, M. A., &
Sahar, G. (2020). Emergency Messages Dissemination Challenges Through
Connected Vehicles for Efficient Intelligent Transportation Systems: A review.
Baghdad Science Journal, 17(4), 1304-1319.
http://dx.doi.org/10.21123/bsj.2020.17.4.13-04 (Indexed by SCOPUS)

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