Application of a Lightweight Protocol to Visualize the Behaviour of Autonomous Vehicle in a Virtual Environment

This paper introduces the design of a system that implements the MQTT protocol in order to model and study the operation of autonomous vehicles in a simulated IoT-based environment. The main goal is to facilitate the constant monitoring and communication of autonomous vehicles in a simulated environment, where vehicles interact with their environment and with each other. With the incorporation of IoT technologies in transportation, conventionally operated vehicles will eventually be replaced with autonomous systems. To achieve this, a design of a communication framework that is aware of its environment to support dynamic changes is required. This framework differs from the traditional approach that uses onboard sensors and perception systems, which is constrained to the knowledge of the immediate local environment rather than relying on collaborative decision-making. Vehicles will be able to monitor the actions of surrounding vehicles, beyond their immediate local surroundings and navigate accordingly based on events such as an accident or a geofenced area. The system continuously collects parameters: velocity, battery state, and GPS measurement, among others, from distributed sensors and broadcasts them to a centralized server using a lightweight communication protocol (MQTT). Results show the feasibility of IoT-enabled communication to enhance coordination between autonomous vehicles. Additionally, the data collected can be used to manage a fleet of vehicles.