Distributed Priority Based Management of Road Intersections Using Blockchain

Abstract

In the last century, the automotive industry has arguably transformed society, being one of the most complex, sophisticated, and technologically advanced industries. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are a main concept in the future of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) since they provide an increase in safety and road efficiency. One of the most critical aspects of managing AVs is their behavior in proximity of intersections. Several research centers are developing algorithms to solve the intersections management, trying to avoid collisions and traffic congestion. As well as, given that many of these interactions transmit sensitive data such as identification, position, and speed of the vehicle, a high level of security and privacy insurance is a prerequisite for broad acceptation of these communication systems. In this paper, in order to address the issues those issues we propose a system that combines blockchain technology effectively to support the communication and the transaction between vehicles. The combination between FRFP and blockchain allows us to verify if all the AVs have the same ledger version (e.g the same priority list) to cross the intersection without collisions; as well as, in case of inconsistencies to establish an emergency situation to avoid any collision.