Bluetooth 5 performance analysis for inter-vehicular communications

Previous work has demonstrated the feasibility of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as an alternative technology for data
transfers in inter-vehicular communication (IVC) scenarios. Bluetooth 5.x core specifications enhance the trade-off
between energy requirements, communication range and flexibility. In this paper, we aim to analyse the potential of
Bluetooth 5 features for VANET applications, proposing a connectionless communication system. By means of field
experiments, we evaluate long range and 2 9 speed features, defining a set of communication scenarios. This allows us to
test both Bluetooth 5.x range and application throughput. The evaluation includes experiments of V2I communications
carried out under real highway traffic conditions. The experiments conducted demonstrate that communication ranges up to
300 m may be achieved depending on the communications scenario. The results also show how throughput degrades as the
distance between devices increases. The results obtained are used to discuss future work, aimed at deeper analysing
Bluetooth 5 features for VANET applications, completing the development of our prototype and evaluating VANET
connectionless communications with the features included in the latest Bluetooth 5.2 specification.