Patent attributes
A vehicular safety system employing an adaptive epidemic information dissemination protocol running on a wireless ad-hoc network composed by neighboring vehicles and roadside stations. The protocol is based on storage and re-transmission of messages by vehicle on-board units; both storage time and re-transmission period are adaptively adjusted to make information spread through the network reasonably certain. An on-board vehicle system monitors a speed and acceleration to detect collisions or any other dangerous situations that might compromise the safety; when such an event is detected a time-stamped message identifies the vehicle and approximate location and event type. A panic button can trigger an emergency message in an immediate threat situation. Roadside stations add their location to the messages they relay; they also receive messages transmitted from passing vehicles, relaying them to law-enforcement agencies. Roadside stations can also broadcast messages aimed at locating and safely disabling stolen vehicles.
