Cluster-based data dissemination, cluster head formation under sparse, and dense traffic conditions for vehicular ad hoc networks

Information and communication technologies have changed the way of operations in all fields. These technologies also have adopted for wireless communication and provide low cost and convenient solutions. Vehicular ad hoc networks are envisioned with their special and unique intercommunication systems to provide safety in intelligent transportation systems and support large-size networks. Due to dense and sparse traffic conditions, routing is always a challenging task to establish reliable and effective communication among vehicle nodes in the highly transportable environment. Several types of routing protocols have been proposed to handle high mobility and dynamic topologies including topology-based routing, position and geocast routing, and cluster-based routing protocols. Cluster-based routing is one of the feasible solutions for vehicular networks due to its manageable and more viable nature. In cluster-based protocols, the network is divided into many clusters and each cluster selects a cluster head for data dissemination. In this study, we investigate the current routing challenges and trend of cluster-based routing protocols. In addition, we also proposed a Cluster-based Routing for Sparse and Dense Networks to handle dynamic topologies, the high-mobility of vehicle nodes. Simulation results show a significant performance improvement of the proposed protocol.