On platooning control using IEEE 802.11p in conjunction with visible light communications

The control of a platoon using IEEE 802.11p is an active research challenge in the field of vehicular networking and cooperative automated vehicles. IEEE 802.11p is a promising technology for direct vehicle to vehicle communication, but there are concerns about its usage for the control of platoons as it suffers packet losses due to congestion in highly dense scenarios. On the other hand, Visible Light Communication (VLC) recently gained attention as a short range technology for vehicular applications. VLC could be used to support or backup IEEE 802.11p, increasing reliability and scalability, and hence the safety of platooning systems. In this paper, we perform a large-scale simulation campaign using VLC integrated with IEEE 802.11p for platooning. We particularly demonstrate the benefits, but also the limitations, of such heterogeneous networking.