This paper presents a traffic-aware position-based routing protocol for vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) suitable for city environments. The protocol is an enhanced version of the geographical source routing (GSR) protocol. The proposed protocol, named efficient GSR, uses an ant-based algorithm to find a route that has optimum network connectivity. It is assumed that every vehicle has a digital map of the streets comprised of junctions and street segments. Using information included in small control packets called ants, the vehicles calculate a weight for every street segment proportional to the network connectivity of that segment. Ant packets are launched by the vehicles in junction areas. In order to find the optimal route between a source and a destination, the source vehicle determines the path on a street map with the minimum total weight for the complete route. The correct functionality of the proposed protocol has been verified, and its performance has been evaluated in a simulation environment. The simulation results show that the packet delivery ratio is improved by more than 10% for speeds up to 70 km/h compared with the VANET routing protocol based on ant colony optimization (VACO) that also uses an ant-based algorithm. In addition, the routing control overhead and end-to-end delay are also reduced.

The development of the sixth generation of communication networks (6G) has been gaining momentum over the past years, with a target of being introduced by 2030. Several initiatives worldwide are developing innovative solutions and setting the direction for the key features of these networks. Some common emerging themes are the tight integration of AI, the convergence of multiple access technologies and sustainable operation, aiming to meet stringent performance and societal requirements. To that end, we are introducing REASON - Realising Enabling Architectures and Solutions for Open Networks. The REASON project aims to address technical challenges in future network deployments, such as E2E service orchestration, sustainability, security and trust management, and policy management, utilising AI-native principles, considering multiple access technologies and cloud-native solutions. This paper presents REASON’s architecture and the identified requirements for future networks. The architecture is meticulously designed for modularity, interoperability, scalability, simplified troubleshooting, flexibility, and enhanced security, taking into consideration current and future standardisation efforts, and the ease of implementation and training. It is structured into four horizontal layers: Physical Infrastructure, Network Service, Knowledge, and End-User Application, complemented by two vertical layers: Management and Orchestration, and E2E Security. This layered approach ensures a robust, adaptable framework to support the diverse and evolving requirements of 6G networks, fostering innovation and facilitating seamless integration of advanced technologies.

In vehicle-to-vehicle communication, every vehicle broadcasts its status information periodically in its beacons to create awareness for surrounding vehicles. However, when the wireless channel is congested by beaconing activity, many beacons are lost due to packet collision. This paper presents a distributed beacon transmission power control algorithm to control channel usage at a desired level. The algorithm is based on game theory, for which the existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium is proven. The proposed algorithm is then compared with other congestion control mechanisms using simulation. The results of the simulations indicate that the proposed algorithm is stable and performs better than the others in terms of fairness, bandwidth usage, and the ability to meet application requirements.

The communication and networking system with intelligent reflective surface (IRS) can effectively improve security and spectrum efficiency. Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is widely used to increase the coverage and flexibility of the network. The integration of IRS and UAV is expected to enable flexible, energy-efficient, and secure communication networks. In this paper, an IRS-assisted UAV network is considered, \boldsymbol the UAV equipped with one IRS serves as a passive relay. Our main problem is to maximize the secrecy rate of the system through jointly optimizing the UAV location and phase shifts of the IRS. To solve this problem, an iterative algorithm is proposed, \boldsymbol the UAV location is optimized with fixed phase shifts and the phase shifts are optimized with updated UAV location. The numerical results show that the proposed design can achieve a good secrecy performance.

Recent developments in the testing and safety assurances of Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) have shifted from a traditional distance-based approach (i.e. vehicle miles travelled) to scenario-based approach. Various studies have been conducted on different aspects of the scenario-based testing workflow such as scenario generation, scenario description language, and scenario analysis. This study intends to build on top of the individual functional modules introduced for scenario-based testing and contributes towards a common test framework, based on the experience gained from the Innovate UK's OmniCAV project. The Test Framework introduced in this paper consists of: Description of Test Scenarios, Different Types of Testing and Allocation of Tests, Generation of Test Cases, Data Collection & Analysis, Correlation of obtained Results and Evidence Gathering for functional and behavioral verification. The framework and processes defined here have relevance to real-world practice and contribute towards both verifiability and certifiability of ADSs.

There are several types of attacks on communication networks such as disrupting or blocking communication, intercepting, injecting fabricated packets, accessing and modifying the information. Here, for the first time the SecRAM, a recent security risk assessment methodology, is proposed to be systematically applied in a different context, i.e., to the network systems, specifically to an emerging network architecture called recursive internetwork architecture (RINA). The security risk assessment is performed to: identify run-time threats; assess the impact and likelihood of occurrence of attacks relevant to the threats; evaluate the RINA design principles; and validate the built-in security enablers and the mitigation actions that are devised to combat such attacks. Resulting from this assessment, specific measures are proposed to further improve cyber resiliency of the RINA, in securing its layers and components. The enhancement prevails through the utilization of multilayered security controls or the increase in their strength. We show how programmable security controls can assist in tackling network attacks. For proof of concept, we demonstrate formal analysis of some of the security properties of RINA using ProVerif tool and RINA Simulator. We apply the tool to create a formal model of a network and mitigate the selected attacks. The results of this analysis are provided.