A Secure Wireless Protocol for Intersection Collision Warning Systems

Radar and infrared technologies can detect impending rear-end and lane-change collisions. However, these technologies cannot detect impending intersection collisions because they require line-of-sight communications. Wireless communication technology will be a viable technology for detecting intersection collisions. In this paper, we assumed that every vehicle is equipped with a wireless communication unit and every intersection has a wireless unit called the Intersection Traffic Controller (ITC). All vehicles near an intersection communicate with the corresponding ITC to send their dynamic information such as speed, acceleration, lane number, road number, and distance from the intersection. Though the wireless technology will be a viable technology for developing intersection collision warning systems, it is subject to various types of security attacks unless the system is properly designed. This paper presents a secure wireless protocol for intersection collision warning systems with a detailed bit level description of the protocol. The security is maintained using a chain of digital certificates issued by various federal and state organizations. The vehicles validate the certificate of the ITC using the public key issued by a federal organization, such as the US Department of Transportation. This paper also presents the performance analysis of the intersection collision warning system.