Research Overview

To complete the research needed for the vehicle to vehicle communications technology, a systems engineering process will be used to update the critical foundational documents. In using the systems engineering approach, the ITS Program looks to ensure that the final products are comprehensive and thorough and form the basis for the iterative development of updated and new documents that will include:

• A revised Concept of Operations (ConOps) that is based on a set of User Needs workshops that include public sector transportation managers, the automobile industry, traffic signal controller industry, telecommunications industry, commercial vehicle operators, transit operators, rail operators, and vehicle and aftermarket providers. The ConOps will be prepared in accordance with standard systems engineering practices. Additionally, the ConOps will consider ongoing efforts in Europe and Asia.

• Analysis and development of a set of revised, refined requirements for the core system of vehicle-to-vehicle communications. These requirements are not for connected vehicle applications, but instead define the key interface requirements that govern how applications will gain access to connected vehicle capabilities and services.

• A set of alternative system architectures for connected vehicles that will allow for further analysis and stakeholder review. The architecture documents will describe:

• The physical architecture that identifies all system components.
• The security architecture that describes how security and privacy will be handled, as well as the consideration of alternative implementations of the anonymity by design approach.
• A functional architecture that identifies all major functions performed within connected vehicles and allocates those functions to system components.

• Development of Analysis, Modeling, and Simulation (AMS) tools to assess the feasibility and trade-offs of the system architectures proposed for connected vehicles and examine performance issues related to the different technical solutions. 

• Define security requirements for connected vehicles.  Security requirements occur at a number of levels:
• Physical security associated with the connected vehicle infrastructure, hardware, facilities, and staff. This type of security is typically governed by laws and procedures in place with public and private sector organizations responsible for existing infrastructure. Under the policy research plan, these laws and procedures will be reviewed to understand their relevance to connected vehicles.
• Data, software, and communications security that focuses on the credentials that determine who can communicate with and in the connected vehicle environment. From a technical perspective, the ITS Program will develop processes that establish the trust relationship between communicating partners. For instance, this may be accomplished by adding a signature to each transmitted message or by establishing a certification process that determines what equipment is allowed to interact with the connected vehicle system. From a policy perspective, this security is based on certifying who (travelers, drivers, system operators) can interact with the connected vehicles and how credentials are managed; options for certification will be a part of the policy research.