The answer is rolling on wheels: Modeling and performance evaluation of in-cabin Wi-Fi communications

Automobile manufacturers are delivering a new generation of connected vehicles with in-cabin Wi-Fi devices, enabling advances in a wide range of in-vehicle communications and infotainment capabilities. The communication performance is a key factor enabling the instant multimedia streaming. A fundamental question remains to be explored: as every running vehicle is equipped with an in-cabin Wi-Fi, how will be the communication performance affected by the varied number of surrounding vehicles, the transmission power and the data rate? In order to answer this question, we establish analytical models that embody the novel in-cabin Wi-Fi features. We set up a new evaluation platform for in-cabin Wi-Fi communications based on extensive simulations. We report how the performance of in-cabin Wi-Fi communications is affected by traffic conditions and Wi-Fi hotspot settings. Through extensive analysis and evaluations, we show how to configure the in-cabin Wi-Fi to guarantee the quality of service.