Sto-CAV: A Distributed Simulation Platform for Connected and Automated Vehicles Running With Heterogeneous Technologies and Devices in the Loop

Year: 2025

Authors: Masini B.M., Mirabella M., Donnini L., Umair M.A., Meucci M., Aresti M., Catani J.

Autors Affiliation: Natl Res Council Italy CNR, Inst Elect Informat Engn & Telecommun, I-40136 Bologna, BO, Italy; CNIT, WiLab, I-43124 Parma, Italy; Neptune Srl, I-48123 Ravenna, Italy; Natl Res Council Italy CNR, Natl Inst Opt, I-50125 Florence, Italy; European Lab Nonlinear Spect LENS, I-50019 Florence, Italy.

Abstract: The development and validation of vehicular applications require extensive testing, often constrained by high costs, logistical challenges, and safety concerns. To address these issues, we introduce Sto-CAV (SimulaTiOn platform for Connected and Automated Vehicles), a novel, flexible, and scalable simulation platform that enables remote access and modular testing for connected and automated vehicle applications. Sto-CAV integrates both virtual and physical components geographically distributed, allowing users to execute simulations without requiring local hardware or software. In addition, Sto-CAV supports heterogeneous vehicle-to-everything (V2X) radio access technologies, including ITS-G5 based on IEEE 802.11p, LTE-V2X and Visible Light Communication (VLC), facilitating the test of beyond 5G vehicular communication scenarios where traditional RF communications meet optical bands. Unlike existing solutions, Sto-CAV emphasizes ease of configuration, remote accessibility, and the integration of heterogeneous communication technologies, thus providing a comprehensive tool for testing vehicular systems, accessible to researchers and developers worldwide. This paper details the design, capabilities, and applications of Sto-CAV, highlighting its potential to advance the testing of innovative vehicle technologies, also when they are geographically distributed, allowing average latencies suitable for quasi-real time applications.

Journal/Review: IEEE Access

Volume: 13      Pages from: 93949  to: “93963

More Information: This work was supported by the Project Centro Nazionale per la Mobility Sostenibile (MOST)-Sustainable Mobility National Research Center funded by European Union Next-GenerationEU (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR)-Missione 4 Componente 2, Investimento 1.4-D.D. 1033 17/06/2022) under Grant CN00000023.
KeyWords: Vehicle-to-everything; Testing; Hardware; Visible light communication; Vehicle dynamics; Software; Radio frequency; Europe; Digital twins; Communications technology; Distributed simulation; heterogeneous technologies; hardware in the loop; connected vehicles; remotely accessible simulator; vehicular communication; vehicle-to-everything (V2X); ITS-G5; LTE-V2X; visible light communication (VLC); 6G vehicular networks
DOI: 10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3572358