METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BROADCASTING VEHICLE MESSAGE

A vehicle message broadcasting method includes determining whether a transmission power set for broadcasting a message by a communication device using a first wireless communication scheme is to be adjusted, the first wireless communication scheme being used to transmit a safety message (SM), broadcasting a safety message (SM) using the first wireless communication scheme with a transmission power based on a result of the determining, broadcasting at least one additional message including information included in the SM and/or information related to the SM using a second wireless communication scheme having a wider coverage than a coverage of the first wireless communication scheme.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(a) of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2015-0144518, filed on Oct. 16, 2015, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The following description relates to a method and apparatus for broadcasting a vehicle message. More particularly, the following description relates to a method and apparatus for broadcasting a vehicle message using wireless communication schemes.

2. Description of Related Art

Due to advances in various sensing technologies, technology for sensing a state of a vehicle and using sensed information related to the vehicle has been developed. In particular, a technology associated with a vehicular communication network has been developed. The vehicular communication network may be used to transmit information of a vehicle to another vehicle to assist driving of the vehicle.

The vehicular communication network may be divided into an in-vehicle network (IVN) and an out-vehicle network. The IVN refers to a wired or wireless communication network between sensors or electronic devices in a vehicle. The out-vehicle network may be further divided into a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) network and a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network. The V2I network is a vehicular communication infrastructure technology including communication between a vehicle and a road side unit (RSU) or other non-vehicle communication devices. For example, the vehicle may receive traffic information and safety support services from the RSU through the V2I. The V2V network is an autonomous vehicle network technology including wireless communication between vehicles. For example, a driver may receive messages that enables safer driving from neighboring vehicles through the V2V, e.g., to prevent traffic accidents. Thus, the V2V is a communication network that may be associated with safety of a driver, and there is a desire for reliability and real-time performance for the V2V.

SUMMARY

A vehicle message broadcasting method includes determining whether a transmission power set for broadcasting a message by a communication device using a first wireless communication scheme is to be adjusted, the first wireless communication scheme being used to transmit a safety message (SM), broadcasting a safety message (SM) using the first wireless communication scheme with a transmission power based on a result of the determining, broadcasting at least one additional message including information included in the SM and/or information related to the SM using a second wireless communication scheme having a wider coverage than a coverage of the first wireless communication scheme.

The first wireless communication scheme may be a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) scheme based on an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11p standard.

The first wireless communication scheme may be a wireless communication scheme based on an IEEE 802.11p standard, and the second wireless communication scheme is a cellular communication scheme.

The first wireless communication scheme and the second wireless communication scheme may be wireless communication schemes based on an IEEE 802.11p standard, and a frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme may be different than a frequency channel of the second wireless communication scheme.

The at least one additional message may include an additional message that includes same information as information included in as the SM.

The at least one additional message may include an event message (EM) generated in response to an event related to a vehicle and related to the SM.

The EM may include location information corresponding to a location of the event.

The vehicle message broadcasting method may further include generating the SM, wherein the generating of the SM includes acquiring information related to a vehicle, and generating the SM based on the information related to the vehicle.

The generating of the SM may further include detecting an event related to the vehicle, and, may further include information about the event to the SM and generating the SM in response to the event being detected.

The vehicle message broadcasting method may further include generating the additional message, wherein the generating of the additional message includes detecting an event occurring in the vehicle and generating the additional message based on the detected event.

The determining of whether the transmission power may include calculating a transmission success rate of the SM transmitted using the first wireless communication scheme; and determining to adjust the transmission power lower in response to the transmission success rate being determined to be less than a threshold success rate.

The determining of whether the transmission power is to be adjusted may include determining to adjust the transmission power based on determined properties of at least one externally received SM.

The determining to adjust the transmission power based on the at least one external SM may include, in response to a number of the neighboring vehicles identified by the plurality of external SMs is determined to be equal to or greater than a preset threshold, determining to adjust the transmission power lower.

The vehicle message broadcasting method may further include receiving a guide from a road side unit (RSU), and the determining of whether the transmission power is to be adjusted may include determining, based on the guide, whether the transmission power is to be adjusted.

A vehicle message broadcasting apparatus includes a processor configured to determine whether a transmission power of a first wireless communication scheme is to be adjusted, the first wireless communication scheme being used to transmit a safety message (SM), and a communicator configured to broadcast the SM using the first wireless communication scheme with the adjusted transmission power and to broadcast at least one additional message using a second wireless communication scheme.

A vehicle message receiving method includes receiving a safety message (SM) comprising information related to a vehicle using a first wireless communication scheme, receiving an additional message including information included in or related to the SM using a second wireless communication scheme having a different property from the first wireless communication scheme, and outputting information included in at least one of the SM and the additional message.

The first wireless communication scheme may be a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) scheme based on an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11p standard.

The first wireless communication scheme may be a wireless communication scheme based on an IEEE 802.11p standard, and the second wireless communication scheme may be a cellular communication scheme.

The first wireless communication scheme and the second wireless communication scheme may be wireless communication schemes based on an IEEE 802.11p standard, and wherein a frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme may be different from a frequency channel of the second wireless communication scheme.

The receiving of the additional message may include receiving the additional message from a road side unit (RSU).

The RSU may broadcast the additional message based on location information of an event, and the location information of the event may be included in the additional message.

A vehicle message receiving apparatus includes a communicator configured to receive a safety message (SM) using a first wireless communication scheme and to receive an additional message using a second wireless communication scheme with a different property than a first wireless communication scheme and a processor configured to output information included in at least one of the SM and the additional message.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various alterations and modifications may be made to the examples. Here, the examples are not construed as limited to the disclosure and should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and replacements within the idea and the technical scope of the disclosure.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not to be limiting of the examples nor to exclude alternatives. A singular expression includes a plural expression except when two expressions are contextually different from each other. For example, as used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “include/comprise” and/or “have” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, operations, elements, components, and/or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which examples belong. It will be further understood that such terms, including those defined in commonly-used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present disclosure and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

When describing the examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, like reference numerals refer to like constituent elements and a repeated description related thereto will be omitted. When it is determined discussions related to a related known operation or configuration that may make the purpose of the examples unnecessarily ambiguous in describing the examples, such discussions in the detailed description will be omitted here.

Hereinafter, reference will now be made in detail to examples with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1illustrates broadcasting a safety message (SM) in accordance with an embodiment.

A vehicle110reports a state of the vehicle110to neighboring vehicles111,112,113,114and115located adjacent to the vehicle110. For example, the vehicle110may broadcast a message including information about the state of the vehicle110to the neighboring vehicles111through115. The neighboring vehicles111through115may receive the message from the vehicle110, and may adjust their operation based on the state of the vehicle110. Vehicles may transmit and receive messages using a vehicle communication technology, for example, a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network.

The neighboring vehicles111through115receiving the message from the vehicle110are located in an exemplary range120, e.g., defined by radius around the vehicle110. The range120is, for example, a coverage of a wireless communication scheme to broadcast a message.

The vehicle110may broadcast a message using a wireless communication scheme. Depending on embodiment, the wireless communication scheme may use or operate in accordance with an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11p standard, such as a dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) scheme or other conforming scheme, and/or an IEEE 1609.x standard for wireless access in vehicular environments (WAVE), noting that alternative communication schemes are also available. For example, a wireless communication scheme based on the IEEE 802.11p and the IEEE 1609.x for WAVE may be referred to as a DSRC or WAVE communication scheme.

All the vehicles110through115may use the same frequency band or channel to broadcast messages, as only an example. A message from a vehicle failing to acquire a communication channel for any reason, such as an insufficient communication capacity among the vehicles110through115, may not be broadcast. Such a failure may be due to failures to access a network or communication channel by either of broadcasting or intended receiver(s). As such, an emergent or urgent message of the vehicle110may not be broadcast to the neighboring vehicles111through115or may not be broadcast in sufficient time. In this case, if vehicle110fails to acquire a communication channel, and the vehicle110, for example, suddenly stops, a state of the vehicle110may not be broadcast to the vehicle111in the rear of the vehicle110.

In a case such as the one stated above, real-time message broadcasting may be important. That is, in one or more embodiments, an emergent or urgent message from vehicle110should be instantly broadcast to the neighboring vehicles111through115. Hereinafter, through one or more embodiments, methods of transmitting a vehicle message is further described with reference toFIGS. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

FIG. 2illustrates a configuration of a vehicle message broadcasting apparatus200in accordance with an embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 2, the vehicle message broadcasting apparatus200(hereinafter, referred to as the “apparatus200”) includes a communicator210, a processor220, and storage230. The apparatus200may be included in, for example, the vehicle110ofFIG. 1, or the apparatus200may be the example vehicle110ofFIG. 1, for example.

The communicator210is communication hardware configured to exchange data and/or information with an external apparatus. The communicator210may be wirelessly connected to differing components or apparatuses of a vehicle in which the apparatus200is installed. For example, the apparatus200may be included in an on-board unit (OBU) or an on-board equipment (OBE) of the vehicle.

The processor220may be, for example, a hardware processing device or processor. The processor220may process data received by the communicator210and data stored in the storage230.

The storage230may store data received by the communicator210and data processed by the processor220.

Hereinafter, example operations of such a communicator, the processor and storage are further described with reference toFIGS. 3 through 11. For convenience, below operations ofFIGS. 3-11will be discussed with reference to the example communicator210, processor220, and storage230, noting that alternatives are available.

FIG. 3illustrates a vehicle message broadcasting method in accordance with an embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 3, in operation310, the processor220generates an SM. The SM is, for example, a message about a driving state of a vehicle. For example, the processor220may generate the SM based on a society of automotive engineers (SAE) J2735 message standard.

As only examples, the SM may include at least one of a message identifier (ID), a message count, a temporary ID, time, a latitude, a longitude, an elevation, a position accuracy, a transmission, a speed, a heading direction, a steering wheel angle, an acceleration, a break system status, and a vehicle size, in association with a vehicle. As only further examples, the SM may include at least one of an event flag, a path history, a path prediction, and a Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) package.

For example, when an event occurs in a vehicle, an event flag may be included in the SM. Events may include, for example, sudden breaking of a vehicle, sudden breaking of a neighboring vehicle and/or a loss of control of the vehicle.

In operation320, the processor220determines whether a transmission power of a first wireless communication scheme is to be adjusted. For example, a maximum value of the transmission power may be set for the first wireless communication scheme. The first wireless communication scheme may be for example, a DSRC scheme based on the IEEE 802.11p standard.

When a sufficient communication capacity is provided by the first wireless communication scheme, the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme is not adjusted. When the communication capacity is not sufficient, the transmission power is adjusted. When, for example, the transmission power is reduced, a coverage area of the first wireless communication scheme may decrease. When the coverage area of the first wireless communication scheme decreases, a number of vehicles located in the coverage of the first wireless communication scheme may decrease, which may lead to an increase in the communication capacity of the first wireless communication scheme.

When a certain condition occurs, the processor220may adjust the transmission power. Such a condition will be further described below with reference toFIGS. 9 through 11, for example.

In operation330, the processor220adjusts the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme. The adjusted transmission power may be less than the original transmission power. For example, the processor220may adjust the transmission power to have a value between a minimum transmission power Pminand a maximum transmission power Pmax. The minimum transmission power may be a transmission power prescribed to be used in a frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme.

In an example, the minimum transmission power may be determined based on a location of the vehicle110and a minimum signal arrival distance of the first wireless communication scheme. The minimum transmission power may be calculated using the below Equation 1, for example.

Minimum transmission power(Pmin)=f1(Minimum signal arrival distance, Location of vehicle)   Equation 1:

In Equation 1, f1(x1,x2) denotes a, example function to calculate the minimum transmission power. The minimum signal arrival distance is a minimum distance that allows messages to be exchanged between vehicles when an event does not occur, and may change based on the first wireless communication scheme. A distance travelled by an arriving signal in the first wireless communication scheme may change based on a geographical location and conditions surrounding the vehicle110. Accordingly, the location of the vehicle110may be used to calculate the minimum transmission power.

The storage230may store a table used to calculate the minimum transmission power based on the location of the vehicle110. The processor220may calculate, in real time, the minimum transmission power based on a moving route of the vehicle110, using the table.

In another example, the minimum transmission power may be calculated based on the minimum signal arrival distance. The minimum transmission power may be calculated using the below Equation 2, for example.

In Equation 2, f2(x) denotes a function to calculate the minimum transmission power.

In operation340, the communicator210broadcasts the SM in a vicinity of the vehicle using the first wireless communication scheme. For example, a DSRC or WAVE communication scheme may use a 5 gigahertz (GHz) band, and a used frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme may have a bandwidth of 10 megahertz (MHz). In the United States, seven channels are allocated to a 5 GHz band, and in the Europe, three channels are allocated. One of the allocated channels may be used to broadcast the SM. The communicator210may broadcast the SM within a first temporal period.

In operation350, the communicator210broadcasts an additional message using a second wireless communication scheme.

In an example, the additional message may be the same as the SM. In other words, the additional message is a message transferred to cover a region to which the SM is not transferred using the first wireless communication scheme.

In another example, when an event occurs with reference to the vehicle transmitting the SM, an event flag may be included in the additional message. As described above, the event may include, for example, sudden breaking and/or a loss of control. The additional message may be referred to as, for example, an event message (EM). The EM may include location information about the location in which an event occurs. For example, when an event occurs in a vehicle, location information of the vehicle may be included in the additional message. Throughout the specification, although the term “additional message” is used, the additional message may include one or more separate additional messages. For example, additional messages may contain the same or different data or information.

The second wireless communication scheme may differ from the first wireless communication scheme, and may have a coverage wider than a coverage of the first wireless communication scheme. For example, the first wireless communication scheme may be a DSRC scheme based on the IEEE 802.11p standard, and the second wireless communication scheme may be a cellular communication scheme. That is, the communicator210may transmit an additional message to a base station that uses the cellular communication scheme, and the additional message may be broadcast to neighboring vehicles using the cellular communication scheme.

A method of broadcasting an additional message using a cellular communication scheme is further described with reference toFIGS. 5 and 6below.

The first wireless communication scheme and the second wireless communication scheme may be, for example, DSRC schemes based on the IEEE 802.11p standard, and a frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme may be different from a frequency channel of the second wireless communication scheme. The frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme may be a channel with an adjusted transmission power, and the frequency channel of the second wireless communication scheme is a channel with the maximum transmission power. For example, the frequency channel of the second wireless communication scheme may be referred to as an EM channel.

A second temporal period during which the additional message is broadcast may be shorter than the first period during which the SM is broadcast. In other words, as a transmission power used to transmit a message increases, a period during which the message is transmitted may decrease. The communicator210may adjust a point in time at which the additional message is broadcast to be identical to a point in time at which an SM is generated and broadcasted using the first communication scheme or they may be broadcast in any order.

The communicator210may include a radio configured to simultaneously transmit and receive at least one channel. The communicator210may use the radio to broadcast the SM and the additional message and/or to receive an SM and an additional message broadcast from another vehicle.

Operation360is performed when the transmission power is determined not to be adjusted in operation320.

In operation360, the communicator210broadcasts the SM using the first wireless communication scheme in which the transmission power is not adjusted. A coverage of the first wireless communication scheme in which the SM is broadcast may be, for example, a full coverage scheme.

The additional message may be broadcast using the second wireless communication scheme in response to the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme being adjusted in operations310through350. However, a scheme of broadcasting the additional message is not limited thereto. Accordingly, when the transmission power is not adjusted, the additional message, together with the SM, may be broadcast according to the first wireless communication scheme.

FIG. 4illustrates coverage of a wireless communication scheme of which a transmission power is adjusted in accordance with an embodiment.

InFIG. 4, a range120is a coverage of a first wireless communication scheme of which a transmission power is not adjusted. Vehicles111through115are located in the range120. When the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme is not adjusted, an SM is broadcast to the vehicles111through115.

When the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme is adjusted, the coverage of the first wireless communication scheme decreases. As shown inFIG. 4, the vehicle113is located in a reduced coverage410, and may be SM of the vehicle110may be able to broadcast to the vehicle113. When the coverage of the first wireless communication scheme decreases, a communication capacity of the first wireless communication scheme increases. Due to an increase in the communication capacity, the SM of the vehicle110may be broadcast to the vehicle113in real time without a delay.

The vehicles111,112,114and115are located outside the coverage410due to adjustment of the transmission power. To provide the SM to the vehicles111,112,114and115, a second wireless communication scheme is used. A coverage of the second wireless communication scheme is wider than the coverage410. A coverage of the second wireless communication scheme is further described with reference toFIGS. 5 and 6below.

FIG. 5illustrates a broadcasting of an additional message in accordance with an embodiment.

In an example, the communicator210transmits an additional message to a base station510using a second wireless communication scheme. In this example, the base station510uses a cellular communication scheme to cover a location of a vehicle110.

In another example, the communicator210may transmit the additional message to a road side unit (RSU) using the second wireless communication scheme. The RSU may support a cellular communication scheme and may be located near the road the communicator210is on. The RSU may include a radio configured to simultaneously transmit and receive at least one channel. The RSU may receive an SM and an additional message transmitted by any of the vehicles using the radio. A vehicle and the RSU may communicate with each other using, for example, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technology.

In an embodiment, the base station510or the RSU exchange data with an EM server520. The base station510and the EM server520may be connected to each other via a backbone. The base station510may transmit the additional message to the EM server520. The EM server520may analyze the additional message and determine the location of the vehicle110. The EM server520may determine a base station or an RSU that covers the location of the vehicle110. The above-described base station510covers the location of the vehicle110, however, there is no limitation thereto. For example, when the location of the vehicle110changes, base stations other than the base station510may cover the location of the vehicle110, so those other base stations or RSUs may be alerted or vehicle110maybe instructed of the other base stations or RSUs.

The base station510broadcasts the additional message to neighboring vehicles111through115located adjacent to the vehicle110. A coverage512of the base station510includes a coverage120of the first wireless communication scheme of which a transmission power is not adjusted. Because the coverage512is wider than the coverage120, the additional message is broadcast to the vehicles111,112,114and115that fail to receive the SM due to adjustment of the transmission power.

FIG. 6illustrates a broadcasting of an additional message in accordance with an embodiment.

The EM server520ofFIG. 5may determine the location of the vehicle110based on data contained in the additional message, and may determine an RSU610corresponding to the location of the vehicle110among RSUs. The RSU610may then be instructed to broadcast the additional message. The RSU610is located on a side of a road as shown inFIG. 6, however, a location of the RSU610is not limited thereto. For example, the RSU610may be located above the road.

The RSU610may broadcast the additional message using a DSRC scheme based on the IEEE 802.11p standard, for example. A frequency channel of the RSU610may be different from a frequency channel of the first wireless communication scheme. For example, the frequency channel of the RSU610may be the same as a frequency channel of the second wireless communication scheme.

A coverage620of the RSU610includes a coverage120of the first wireless communication scheme of which a transmission power is not adjusted. Because the coverage620is wider than the coverage120, the additional message may be broadcast to the vehicles111,112,114and115that fail to receive the SM due to adjustment of the transmission power.

FIG. 7illustrates a generating of an SM in a vehicle message broadcasting method in accordance with an embodiment.

In this example, this operation310may include operations710,720and730.

Referring toFIG. 7, in operation710, the processor220periodically acquires information about the vehicle110.

In operation720, the processor220generates an SM based on the acquired information about the vehicle110. The processor220may change a period of generation of an SM based on a type of the first wireless communication scheme. As only an example, when the first wireless communication scheme is a DSRC scheme, the processor220may generate an SM ten times per second while the SM may generate less or more times per second in other schemes.

Operation730is performed in parallel with operation710. When an event occurs in a vehicle, the processor220detects the event in operation730. When the event is detected, the processor220generates an SM by including information about the event in the SM.

FIG. 8illustrates a generating of an additional message in accordance with an embodiment.

The vehicle message broadcasting method ofFIG. 3further includes operation810, and operation810includes operations812and814. For example, operation810may be performed prior to operation350.

Referring toFIG. 8, when an event occurs relating to a vehicle, the processor220detects the event in operation812.

In operation814, the processor220generates an additional message including information about the detected event. The additional message also includes information included in the SM broadcast using the first communication scheme.

FIG. 9illustrates a determining of whether a transmission power is to be adjusted in a vehicle message broadcasting method in accordance with an embodiment.

The vehicle110and neighboring vehicles of the vehicle110may use the same frequency channel to transmit or broadcast the SM. When a large number of neighboring vehicles are located adjacent to the vehicle110, the vehicle110may compete with the neighboring vehicles to use the frequency channel. When the frequency channel is not acquired, the vehicle110may fail to transmit the SM.

Referring toFIG. 9, in operation910, the processor220calculates a transmission success rate of the SM transmitted using the first wireless communication scheme.

In operation920, the processor220determines whether to adjust the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme based on the transmission success rate being less than a threshold success rate. The transmission power may be calculated based on the transmission success rate. For example, the transmission power may be calculated using the below Equation 3, for example.

In Equation 3, f3(x) denotes a function to calculate the transmission power. The transmission power may be calculated in a range of a minimum transmission power to a maximum transmission power. The transmission power may be calculated, for example, in proportion to a value of the transmission success rate. Thus, when the transmission success rate has a higher value, the calculated transmission power may be a higher transmission power when the transmission success rate has a lower value.

FIG. 10illustrates determining whether a transmission power is to be adjusted in a vehicle message broadcasting method in accordance with an embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 10, in operation1010, the communicator210receives external SMs from neighboring vehicles. The external SMs are broadcast from the neighboring vehicles.

In operation1020, the processor220determines whether to adjust the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme based on a determined or observed property of the received external SMs. For example, when a number of neighboring vehicles identified by a plurality of external SMs is equal to or greater than a preset threshold, the processor220may determine to adjust the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme.

FIG. 11illustrates determining whether a transmission power is to be adjusted in a vehicle message broadcasting method in accordance with an embodiment.

Operation1110is performed prior to operation320. In operation1110, the communicator210receives a guide from an RSU. The guide may include information about the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme.

For example, the EM server520ofFIG. 5may acquire information about road and traffic conditions from RSUs, and determine the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme based on the acquired information. The EM server520may transmit a guide to an RSU, and the RSU may broadcast the guide. For example, the RSU may use a DSRC scheme to broadcast the guide.

Operation320includes operation1120. In operation1120, the processor220determines, based on the guide, whether the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme is to be adjusted. For example, when a transmission power of the guide is less than a threshold transmission power, the processor220may adjust the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme to the transmission power prescribed by the guide.

FIG. 12illustrates a configuration of a vehicle message receiving apparatus1200in accordance with an embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 12, the vehicle message receiving apparatus1200(hereinafter, referred to as the “apparatus1200”) includes a communicator1210, a processor1220and a storage1230.

The apparatus1200may be installed in, for example, the vehicle110ofFIG. 1. For example, the apparatus200ofFIG. 2and the apparatus1200may be installed in the same vehicle110, and may include similar features. That is, the communicator1210, the processor1220, and the storage1230may have similar features as the communicator210, the processor220, and the storage230in the apparatus200, respectively.

Hereinafter, the communicator1210, the processor1220, and the storage1230are further described with reference toFIG. 13.

FIG. 13illustrates a vehicle message receiving method in accordance with an embodiment.

Referring toFIG. 13, in operation1310, the communicator1210receives an SM including data/information about a neighboring vehicle from the neighboring vehicle using a first wireless communication scheme. The neighboring vehicle reduces a transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme and broadcasts the SM.

In operation1320, the communicator1210receives an additional message using a second wireless communication scheme. In an example, the communicator1210may receive the additional message from a base station using a cellular communication scheme. In another example, the communicator1210may receive the additional message from an RSU. The RSU may cover or have a coverage of the neighboring vehicle that may be reduced by adjusting the transmission power of the first wireless communication scheme.

In operation1330, the processor1220outputs data/information included in at least one of the received SM and the received additional message. In an embodiment, information regarding both an SM and the additional message may be exemplary, and may be combined as necessary. For example, the processor1220may output the information as sounds using speakers, or visually outputs the information using a display. Additionally or alternatively, in an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) or an autonomous vehicle, the information may be utilized to control a vehicle.

The apparatuses, units, modules, devices, and other components illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 12that perform the operations described herein with respect toFIGS. 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 13are hardware components. Examples of hardware components include controllers, sensors, generators, drivers, and any other electronic components known to one of ordinary skill in the art after having a full understanding of the present specification. In one example, the hardware components are one or more processing devices, such as one or more processors or computers. A processor or computer is implemented by one or more processing elements, such as an array of logic gates, a controller and an arithmetic logic unit, a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a programmable logic controller, a field-programmable gate array, a programmable logic array, a microprocessor, or any other device or combination of devices known to one of ordinary skill in the art after having a full understanding of the present specification that is capable of responding to and executing instructions in a defined manner to achieve a desired result. In one example, a processor or computer includes, or is connected to, one or more memories storing instructions or software that are executed by the processor or computer. Hardware components implemented by a processor or computer execute instructions or software, such as an operating system (OS) and one or more software applications that run on the OS, to perform the operations described herein with respect to FIGS.3,7,8,9,10,11and13. The hardware components also access, manipulate, process, create, and store data in response to execution of the instructions or software. For simplicity, the singular term “processor” or “computer” may be used in the description of the examples described herein, but in other examples multiple processors or computers are used, or a processor or computer includes multiple processing elements, or multiple types of processing elements, or both. In one example, a hardware component includes multiple processors, and in another example, a hardware component includes a processor and a controller. A hardware component has any one or more of different processing configurations, examples of which include a single processor, independent processors, parallel processors, single-instruction single-data (SISD) multiprocessing, single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) multiprocessing, multiple-instruction single-data (MISD) multiprocessing, and multiple-instruction multiple-data (MIMD) multiprocessing.