Deep Reinforcement Learning Algorithms for Hybrid V2X Communication: A Benchmarking Study
This addresses the challenge of reliable communication for autonomous vehicles, though it appears incremental as it benchmarks existing DRL methods rather than introducing a new paradigm.
This paper tackles the vertical handover problem in V2X communication for autonomous vehicles by using Deep Reinforcement Learning algorithms to coordinate multiple radio access technologies, showing that benchmarked algorithms outperform state-of-the-art approaches in redundancy and V-VLC usage rate while reducing communication costs.
In today's era, autonomous vehicles demand a safety level on par with aircraft. Taking a cue from the aerospace industry, which relies on redundancy to achieve high reliability, the automotive sector can also leverage this concept by building redundancy in V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) technologies. Given the current lack of reliable V2X technologies, this idea is particularly promising. By deploying multiple RATs (Radio Access Technologies) in parallel, the ongoing debate over the standard technology for future vehicles can be put to rest. However, coordinating multiple communication technologies is a complex task due to dynamic, time-varying channels and varying traffic conditions. This paper addresses the vertical handover problem in V2X using Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) algorithms. The goal is to assist vehicles in selecting the most appropriate V2X technology (DSRC/V-VLC) in a serpentine environment. The results show that the benchmarked algorithms outperform the current state-of-the-art approaches in terms of redundancy and usage rate of V-VLC headlights. This result is a significant reduction in communication costs while maintaining a high level of reliability. These results provide strong evidence for integrating advanced DRL decision mechanisms into the architecture as a promising approach to solving the vertical handover problem in V2X.