METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FILTERING AND PROCESSING RECEIVED VEHICLE PEER TRANSMISSIONS BASED ON RELIABILITY INFORMATION

• US 20130083679A1
• Filed: 10/03/2011
• Published: 04/04/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Krishnaswamy, Dilip, Wu, Xinzhou, Li, Junyi
• Granted Patent: US 8,923,147 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/252
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/093 Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0082 fields explicitly indicating existence of error in data being transmitted, e.g. so that downstream stations can avoid decoding erroneous packet; relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/46 for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0035 detecting errors in frequency or phase

Abstract

Methods and devices for processing and retransmitting highway communication system transmissions include determining a reliability of a received message and including an indication of the reliability in retransmitted transmissions. Reliability of received messages may be based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission, comparison of the signal strength to a distance to the transmitter based on message contents, the age of the received message, the signal quality of the received message, and other parameters. An indication of the determined reliability may be included in retransmissions of the message to enable other vehicles and receiver units in the highway communication system to benefit from the reliability determination. Message reliability may be used as part of prioritizing messages for processing. Messages may be processed according to priority so that high priority messages are processed before lower priority messages.

Claims

1. A method for processing peer transmissions within a highway communication system, comprising:

determining a reliability of a message to be transmitted as a peer transmission within the highway communication system; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determined reliability includes an inaccuracy of measurement or identification of a method used to estimate a value reported in the message.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the multiple reliability determinations are made for multiple types of information included within the message; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted comprises including in the message an indication of each of the determined reliabilities for multiple types of information included within the message.

4. A method for processing peer transmissions within a highway communication system, comprising:

receiving in a communication unit a peer transmission message within the highway communication system;

determining a reliability of the received message; and

retransmitting the received message including an indicator of the determined reliability.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

obtaining a reliability indicator from the received message;

analyzing contents of the received message; and

determining whether the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message,

wherein determining a reliability of the received message comprises assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on an age of the received message.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal quality of the received message.

8. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

receiving a value from a road side unit within the highway communication system;

generating a random number; and

comparing the generated random number to the received value,

wherein retransmitting the received message is accomplished based upon results of the comparison of the generated random number to the received value.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising calculating a distance to a transmitter of the received message, wherein determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission comprises assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the calculated distance to the transmitter of the received message is inconsistent with the signal strength of the received peer transmission.

11. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

assigning a priority to the message; and

processing the received message according to the assigned a priority.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on a routing data bit, a MAC identifier or security identifier in a header of the received message.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on a Doppler shift of the received peer transmission.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a location of the transmitter, and an elevation of the transmitter.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising including an indication of the priority assigned to the message in the retransmission of the message.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises processing messages with a high assigned priority promptly and delaying processing of messages with a low assigned priority.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on the determined reliability of the message.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises prioritizing processing of received messages so that messages of lower priority are processed after messages of higher priority.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on a proximity of a transmitter of the received peer transmission.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the assigned priority is reflected in the manner in which the message is encoded in a transmission wave form.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein messages are transmitted in an orthogonal frequency domain multiplex access (OFDMA) wave form and high priority messages are transmitted in predefined sub-carriers, within pre-defined times within transmission frames, or both.

22. A message processing unit configured for use within a highway communication system, comprising:

a wireless transceiver; and

a processor coupled to the wireless transceiver, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

determining a reliability of a message to be transmitted as a peer transmission within the highway communication system; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted.

23. The message processing unit of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that the determined reliability includes an inaccuracy of measurement or identification of a method used to estimate a value reported in the message.

24. The message processing unit of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that:

the multiple reliability determinations are made for multiple types of information included within the message; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted comprises including in the message an indication of each of the determined reliabilities for multiple types of information included within the message.

25. A message processing unit for processing peer transmissions within a highway communication system, comprising:

a wireless transceiver; and

a processor coupled to the wireless transceiver, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

receiving in a communication unit a peer transmission message;

determining a reliability of the received message; and

retransmitting the received message including an indicator of the determined reliability.

26. The message processing unit of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

obtaining a reliability indicator from the received message;

analyzing contents of the received message; and

determining whether the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message,

wherein determining a reliability of the received message comprises assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message.

27. The message processing unit of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on an age of the received message.

28. The message processing unit of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal quality of the received message.

29. The message processing unit of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

receiving a value from a road side unit within the highway communication system;

generating a random number; and

comparing the generated random number to the received value,

wherein retransmitting the received message is accomplished based upon results of the comparison of the generated random number to the received value.

30. The message processing unit of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission.

31. The message processing unit of claim 30, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising calculating a distance to a transmitter of the received message,

wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission comprises assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the calculated distance to the transmitter of the received message is inconsistent with the signal strength of the received peer transmission.

32. The message processing unit of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

assigning a priority to the message; and

processing the received message according to the assigned a priority.

33. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on a routing data bit, a MAC identifier or security identifier in a header of the received message.

34. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on a Doppler shift of the received peer transmission.

35. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a location of the transmitter, and an elevation of the transmitter.

36. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising including an indication of the priority assigned to the message in the retransmission of the message.

37. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises processing messages with a high assigned priority promptly and delaying processing of messages with a low assigned priority.

38. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on the determined reliability of the message.

39. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises prioritizing processing of received messages so that messages of lower priority are processed after messages of higher priority.

40. The message processing unit of claim 39, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on a proximity of a transmitter of the received peer transmission.

41. The message processing unit of claim 32, wherein the assigned priority is reflected in the manner in which the message is encoded in a transmission wave form.

42. The message processing unit of claim 41, wherein messages are transmitted in an orthogonal frequency domain multiplex access (OFDMA) wave form and high priority messages are transmitted in predefined sub-carriers, within pre-defined times within transmission frames, or both.

43. A message processing unit configured for use within a highway communication system, comprising:

determining a reliability of a message to be transmitted as a peer transmission within the highway communication system; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted.

44. The message processing unit of claim 43, wherein the determined reliability includes an inaccuracy of measurement or identification of a method used to estimate a value reported in the message.

45. The message processing unit of claim 43, wherein:

the multiple reliability determinations are made for multiple types of information included within the message; and

means for including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted comprises means for including in the message an indication of each of the determined reliabilities for multiple types of information included within the message.

46. A message processing unit for processing peer transmissions within a highway communication system, comprising:

means for receiving in a communication unit a peer transmission message;

means for determining a reliability of the received message; and

means for retransmitting the received message including an indicator of the determined reliability.

47. The message processing unit of claim 46, further comprising:

means for obtaining a reliability indicator from the received message;

means for analyzing contents of the received message; and

means for determining whether the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message,

wherein means for determining a reliability of the received message comprises means for assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message.

48. The message processing unit of claim 46, wherein means for determining a reliability of the received message comprises means for determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on an age of the received message.

49. The message processing unit of claim 46, wherein means for determining a reliability of the received message comprises means for determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal quality of the received message.

50. The message processing unit of claim 46, further comprising:

means for receiving a value from a road side unit within the highway communication system;

means for generating a random number; and

means for comparing the generated random number to the received value,

wherein means for retransmitting the received message comprises means for determining whether to retransmit the received message based upon results of the comparison of the generated random number to the received value.

51. The message processing unit of claim 46, wherein means for determining a reliability of the received message comprises means for determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission.

52. The message processing unit of claim 51, further comprising means for calculating a distance to a transmitter of the received message,

wherein means for determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission comprises means for assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the calculated distance to the transmitter of the received message is inconsistent with the signal strength of the received peer transmission.

53. The message processing unit of claim 46, further comprising:

means for assigning a priority to the message; and

means for processing the received message according to the assigned a priority.

54. The message processing unit of claim 53, wherein means for assigning a priority to the message comprises means for assigning a priority to the message based on a routing data bit, a MAC identifier or security identifier in a header of the received message.

55. The message processing unit of claim 53, wherein means for assigning a priority to the message comprises means for assigning a priority to the message based on a Doppler shift of the received peer transmission.

56. The message processing unit of claim 53, wherein means for assigning a priority to the message comprises means for assigning a priority to the message based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a location of the transmitter, and an elevation of the transmitter.

57. The message processing unit of claim 53, further comprising means for including an indication of the priority assigned to the message in the retransmission of the message.

58. The message processing unit of claim 53, wherein means for processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises means for processing messages with a high assigned priority promptly and delaying processing of messages with a low assigned priority.

59. The message processing unit of claim 53, further comprising:

means for adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on the determined reliability of the message.

60. The message processing unit of claim 53, wherein means for processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises means for prioritizing processing of received messages so that messages of lower priority are processed after messages of higher priority.

61. The message processing unit of claim 60, further comprising:

means for adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on a proximity of a transmitter of the received peer transmission.

62. The message processing unit of claim 53, wherein the assigned priority is reflected in the manner in which the message is encoded in a transmission wave form.

63. The message processing unit of claim 62, wherein messages are transmitted in an orthogonal frequency domain multiplex access (OFDMA) wave form and high priority messages are transmitted in predefined sub-carriers, within pre-defined times within transmission frames, or both.

64. A non-transitory processor-readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit configured for use within a highway communication system to perform operations comprising:

determining a reliability of a message to be transmitted as a peer transmission within the highway communication system; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted.

65. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 64, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that the determined reliability includes an inaccuracy of measurement or identification of a method used to estimate a value reported in the message.

66. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 64, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that:

the multiple reliability determinations are made for multiple types of information included within the message; and

including an indicator of the determined reliability in the message when it is transmitted comprises including in the message an indication of each of the determined reliabilities for multiple types of information included within the message.

67. A non-transitory processor-readable medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit for processing peer transmissions within a highway communication system to perform operations comprising:

receiving in a communication unit a peer transmission message;

determining a reliability of the received message; and

retransmitting the received message including an indicator of the determined reliability.

68. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising:

obtaining a reliability indicator from the received message;

analyzing contents of the received message; and

determining whether the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message,

wherein determining a reliability of the received message comprises assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the contents of the received message are inconsistent with the reliability indicator obtained from the received message.

69. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on an age of the received message.

70. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal quality of the received message.

71. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising:

receiving a value from a road side unit within the highway communication system;

generating a random number; and

comparing the generated random number to the received value,

wherein retransmitting the received message is accomplished based upon results of the comparison of the generated random number to the received value.

72. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that determining a reliability of the received message comprises determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission.

73. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising calculating a distance to a transmitter of the received message,

wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that determining if the filtered peer transmissions are reliable based on a signal strength of the received peer transmission comprises assigning a lower reliability to the received message if the calculated distance to the transmitter of the received message is inconsistent with the signal strength of the received peer transmission.

74. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 67, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising:

assigning a priority to the message; and

processing the received message according to the assigned a priority.

75. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on a routing data bit, a MAC identifier or security identifier in a header of the received message.

76. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on a Doppler shift of the received peer transmission.

77. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that assigning a priority to the message comprises assigning a priority to the message based on one or more parameters selected from the group consisting of a location of the transmitter, and an elevation of the transmitter.

78. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising including an indication of the priority assigned to the message in the retransmission of the message.

79. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises processing messages with a high assigned priority promptly and delaying processing of messages with a low assigned priority.

80. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising:

adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on the determined reliability of the message.

81. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations such that processing the received message according to the assigned a priority comprises prioritizing processing of received messages so that messages of lower priority are processed after messages of higher priority.

82. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 81, wherein the stored processor-executable instructions are configured to cause a processor of a message processing unit to perform operations further comprising:

adjusting the assigned priority of the message based on a proximity of a transmitter of the received peer transmission.

83. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 74, wherein the assigned priority is reflected in the manner in which the message is encoded in a transmission wave form.

84. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 83, wherein messages are transmitted in an orthogonal frequency domain multiplex access (OFDMA) wave form and high priority messages are transmitted in predefined sub-carriers, within pre-defined times within transmission frames, or both.