Optimal Relay Selection Strategy for Efficient and Reliable Cluster-Based Cooperative Multi-Hop Transmission in Vehicular Communication

Routing is the key issue for Vehicular Networks since each node in the network has mobility. The dynamic nature of vehicular networks increases with mobility and the consequence is reflected in controlling traffic overhead. As a result, the routing technique and the type of node mobility information are completely dependent on building dependable end-to-end communication links. To address these challenges, a Reliable Cluster-based Multi-Hop Cooperative Routing (RCCR) strategy was proposed by using velocity, distance, and link quality parameters. This algorithm obtains the tradeoff between Quality of Service (QoS) and mobility constraints over link parameters. It improves routing scalability by electing cluster heads and selecting Multi-Point Relays (MPRs) while considering mobility constraints and QoS needs. The proposed technique determines the link quality for every pair of nodes based on values of signal strength and distance parameters. The relay vehicles are chosen based on the highest possible QoS value, which is calculated to assure route stability, reliability, and durability. The heuristic limitations of the multi-point relay selection strategy are handled by considering the link quality, distance from the source vehicle, and cluster-head coverage area to enhance the performance of the multi-hop network with tolerable End-to-End transmission delay. Further, we obtained an optimal number of cooperative vehicles in every hop. Finally, simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm compared to other state of art algorithms.