Reliable Relay Node Selection to Real-Time Messaging in Vehicular Networks

One of the intelligent transportation systems' goals is to improve safety and increase the quality of service on road journeys. Transmitting the message in critical situations with minimal delay and on time is essential for ensuring the health and safety of citizens on road trips. Frequent topological changes pose significant challenges to the operation of safety programs and reduce the probability of sending critical messages in real-time. This article proposes the reliable relay node selection to real-time messaging (RRRM) routing algorithm to increase the reliability of sending real-time messages in vehicular networks. To expedite the transmission of information, by introducing three indicators for selecting intermediate vehicles entitled "Record of vehicle displacement", "Similarity of vehicle velocity with the velocity average of neighbor vehicles", and "Amount of trusty adjacent vehicles", the route vehicles are scored. The worthiest vehicles are selected as members of the route. RRRM measures the temporal conformity of the vehicles' previous presence in the current route and the stability of their connection with neighboring vehicles. It avoids route failure, increased delays, and failure to send critical messages to the destination by preventing the selection of unreliable vehicles as relays. Extensive simulations with multiple scenarios in the NS-3 and SUMO demonstrate the superiority of the RRRM in reducing route-failure, mean latency, and control overload, as well as increasing packet delivery rates in urban and highway environments.