We propose and implement a decentralized, intelligent air traffic flow management (ATFM) solution to improve the efficiency of air transportation in the ASEAN region as a whole. Our system, named BlockAgent, leverages the inherent synergy between multi-agent reinforcement learning (RL) for air traffic flow optimization; and the rising blockchain technology for a secure, transparent and decentralized coordination platform. As a result, BlockAgent does not require a centralized authority for effective ATFM operations. We have implemented several novel distributed coordination approaches for RL in BlockAgent. Empirical experiments with real air traffic data concerning regional airports have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of our approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that considers blockchain-based, distributed RL for ATFM.
Chain growth in a permissionless blockchain-based ledger is mostly defined by the characteristics of the distribution network and the chosen consensus protocol. In this paper, we investigate the performance of block propagation in a Bitcoin-like peer-to-peer distribution network, and highlight the impact of the Nakamoto consensus protocol on the dynamics of blockchain growth. We use a simulated network with nodes located in different geographic regions, each with its own propagation characteristics; the values of network parameters are chosen to match available data for the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network. We show that the latency of block propagation is mainly affected by the mean round-trip time; that forks occur more often when mean round-trip time is longer, and that the ratio of the number of nodes opting for one or the other of competing blocks as the main chain tip can occur in almost any ratio; finally, that the mean time to resolve a fork is approximately equal to block inter-arrival time.
Alina Buzachis, Basilio Filocamo, Maria Fazio, Javier Alonso · 6 authors
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.
This paper deals with the design of the secure network in an Enhanced Internet of Vehicles by using the Blockchain Governance Game (BGG). The BGG is a system model of a stochastic game to find best strategies towards preparation of preventing a network malfunction by an attacker and the paper applies this game model into the connected vehicle security. Analytically tractable results for decision-making parameters enable to predict the moment for safety operations and to deliver the optimal combination of the number of reserved nodes with the acceptance probability of backup nodes to protect a connected car. This research helps for whom considers the enhanced secure IoV architecture with the BGG within a decentralized network.
Andrew Cullen, Pietro Ferraro, Christopher King, Robert Shorten
Recently, Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) based Distributed Ledgers have been proposed for various applications in the smart mobility domain [1]. While many application studies have been described in the literature, an open problem in the DLT community concerns the lack of mathematical models describing their behaviour, and their validation. Building on a previous work in [1], we present, in this paper, a fluid based approximation for the IOTA Foundation's DAG-based DLT that incorporates varying transaction delays. This extension, namely the inclusion of varying delays, is important for feedback control applications (such as transactive control [2]). Extensive simulations are presented to illustrate the efficacy of our approach.
The development of vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) has facilitated adaptive traffic signal control for intelligent transportation. In this paper, we proposed the traffic signal control mechanism based on a consortium blockchain, which has saved plenty of financial and material resources. It has solved the centralization problems and minimized the high degree of human intervention in the process of traffic signal light management. As a road is congested, the vehicle forwards road condition messages. The traffic department (TD) adjusts the signal light duration to allow the synergistic optimization management, and control the traffic vehicle status through a smart contract. In addition, we propose a credibility mechanism to effectively prevent vehicles from broadcasting mendacious messages and malicious requests, thereby enhancing the credibility of vehicles and providing a secure and trustworthy communication environment for the VANETs. It is hazardous for vehicles to send plaintext messages in an open environment because their privacy and security are threatened. Thus, we utilize ElGamal encryption and group signature algorithm to guarantee the confidentiality, privacy, and non-repudiation of any information. The safety analysis and performance evaluation demonstrate that the scheme is feasible and valid, and it can facilitate the adaptive control of traffic signal lights.
Alina Buzachis, Antonio Celesti, Antonino Galletta, Maria Fazio · 5 authors
Every year, traffic collisions have increased rapidly in proportion to the increase in the number of vehicles, especially at intersections. The main cause is human error in recognition and decision-making. Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and Autonomous Intersection Management (AIM) systems represent emerging challenges. AVs can take a great deal of different actions when approaching an intersection. Several research centers are developing algorithms to solve one of the crucial aspects of autonomous driving, i.e the intersections management, trying to avoid collisions and traffic congestion. In this context, security is the main concern, due to the high exposure to data and information between Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Intersection (V2I) communications. Blockchain and smart contracts, one of most promising technologies emerged in recent years, represent a possible solution for the existing security issues. Smart contracts are the orchestration and choreography protocols that facilitate, verify and negotiated agreement between the consenting parties participating in the Blockchain network. In this paper, we propose a Multi-Agent AIM (MA-AIM) system based on V2I/I2V communication to securely manage vehicles crossing though an intersections by leveraging Blockchain facilities. A central Intersection Manager Agent (IMA) is implemented at each intersection while each vehicle is controlled by a Driver Agent (DA).
Blockchains are used to perform state agreement in a distributed system. However, there is no way to validate off-chain actions, such as physical actions, in the current architecture. This paper proposes a new blockchain architecture which features locally physically-verified transactions. From this new architecture, this paper presents a protocol for securing vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) without the need to constantly communicate with roadside units (RSUs) or other infrastructure components. However, issues such as privacy in VANETs and Blockchains are left to future work. This paper shows the results from simulations of the current system in order to note its weaknesses. In particular, this paper can be used as a benchmark to show that ideas such as Proof-of-Work and full blockchain validation cannot work in a purely peer-to-peer VANET.
Smart interconnected vehicles generate a huge amount of data to be used by a wide range of applications. Although cloud based data management is currently in practice, for many applications serving road safety or traffic regulation, it is utmost important that applications access these data at the site itself for improved quality of service. Road side units (RSUs) play a crucial role in handling these vast amount of vehicular data and serving the running applications in turn. In this current era of edge computing, in-place data access is also proven to be advantageous from cost point of view. As multiple applications from different service providers are interested to access different fragments of these data, a robust access control mechanism is needed to ensure desired level of security as well as reliability for these data. In this paper, we introduce B2VDM, a novel architecture for vehicular data management at RSUs, that provides a seamless access control using Blockchain technology. The proposed B2VDM framework also implements a simple load distribution module, which maintains the reliability by minimizing the number of packet drops at a heavily loaded RSU during peak hours. An extensive evaluation using Etherium Blockchain validates the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.
Rens W. van der Heijden, Felix Engelmann, David Mödinger, Franziska Schönig · 5 authors
In this paper, we propose a new Blockchain-based message and revocation accountability system called Blackchain. Combining a distributed ledger with existing mechanisms for security in V2X communication systems, we design a distributed event data recorder (EDR) that satisfies traditional accountability requirements by providing a compressed global state. Unlike previous approaches, our distributed ledger solution provides an accountable revocation mechanism without requiring trust in a single misbehavior authority, instead allowing a collaborative and transparent decision making process through Blackchain. This makes Blackchain an attractive alternative to existing solutions for revocation in a Security Credential Management System (SCMS), which suffer from the traditional disadvantages of PKIs, notably including centralized trust. Our proposal becomes scalable through the use of hierarchical consensus: individual vehicles dynamically create clusters, which then provide their consensus decisions as input for road-side units (RSUs), which in turn publish their results to misbehavior authorities. This authority, which is traditionally a single entity in the SCMS, responsible for the integrity of the entire V2X network, is now a set of authorities that transparently perform a revocation, whose result is then published in a global Blackchain state. This state can be used to prevent the issuance of certificates to previously malicious users, and also prevents the authority from misbehaving through the transparency implied by a global system state.
Benjamin Leiding, Parisa Memarmoshrefi, Dieter Hogrefe
Combining Vehicle Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) and Ethereum's blockchain-based application concepts enables transparent, self-managed and decentralized system which are self-regulating and in no need of a central managing authority.
This paper shows that the inefficiency of fiscal decentralization in the presence of spillovers, a main tenet of the decentralization literature, is overturned in a particular transportation context. In a monocentric city where road (bridge) capacity is financed by budget-balancing user fees, decentralized capacity choices (made by individual zones within the city) generate the social optimum despite the presence of spillovers. This conclusion is closely tied to the famous self-financing theorem of transporation economics.
Antonella Ferrara, Renato Librino, A. Massola, M. Miglietta · 5 authors
In the short term future, cybernetic transport systems (CTS), based on fully automated urban vehicles (the so-called Cybercars), will be seen on city roads and on new dedicated infrastructures. The objective of the Cybercars is to achieve a more effective organization of urban transport, resulting in a more rational use of motorized traffic, with less congestion and pollution and safer driving. One necessary functionality of Cybercars is the ability to cooperate and run in a platoon at close range. Platooning of these automatic guided cars is addressed in this paper, and decentralized control schemes for autonomous vehicle are proposed. Due to system uncertainties and the wide range of operating conditions, which are typical of the automotive context, a robust control technique is required to solve the problem. The robust control methodologies adopted in this paper are first order and second order sliding mode control, which result particularly suitable to deal with uncertain nonlinear time-varying systems. The proposed control schemes are compared through simulations.