Vehicle as a Mobile Sensor

Automotive manufacturers are currently giving much interest to in-vehicle sensors and their relevant ITS applications. The number of in-vehicle sensors is in continuously increasing because of their proved benefits represented in avoided accidents, higher driving efficiencies, and ubiquitous sensing-based services. These benefits are not limited to only the vehicle's driver, but also to other vehicles and third parties. In this paper, we introduce Vehicle as a Mobile Sensor (VaaMS), a concept that shows how sensor-equipped vehicles can be considered a pivotal, mobile resource of sensory data and sensor-related applications/services. In addition, we present a new categorization of in-vehicle sensors along with a discussion of some representative sensors and several supported ITS applications. Besides, we elaborate on some communication technologies that support VaaMS.