Blockchain-based data network for vehicle edge

In recent years, the blockchain-based vehicular edge computing (VEC) network has made it possible for the computational task of vehicular networks to be transferred to multiple distributed edge computing nodes distributed in roadside units (RSUs), while realizing reliable and decentralized information sharing between RSUs. In the next generation of vehicle networks, the data and storage capacity of vehicles will be improved. Therefore, it is very possible to deploy blockchain nodes to vehicles and RSUs at the same time. However, there are obvious differences between vehicle nodes and RSU nodes in terms of mobility and communication coverage. The communication mode between vehicles and RSUs will have an impact on the specific mode of block propagation, which needs further exploration. In addition, the consensus mechanism adopted by the existing blockchain-based VEC cannot fully exercise the communication ability of all nodes, resulting in low consensus efficiency, which needs to be improved.

To study the improvements in the consensus process when blockchain nodes are deployed on vehicles and RSUs, this paper investigates the dynamic process of block mediation between RSUs and vehicles. Aimed at implementing blockchain nodes, a reputation-based consensus mechanism is also proposed. By comparing the numerical results and the simulation results, the feasibility of the proposed consensus mechanism is confirmed.

The main contributions to the paper are as follows:

1. The dynamic process of block mediation between vehicles and RSUs is analyzed.
2. The dynamic equations for the single-block propagation for two specific conditions are presented and further discussed. The dynamic state transitions of vehicles in the multiblock deployment are illustrated.
3. We design a reputation-based consensus mechanism, which separates the consensus process between RSUs and vehicles and requires all nodes to participate in the forwarding process of the new block.

The dynamic equations and consensus mechanisms proposed in the paper are analyzed and simulated in a 12 km × 12 km square region where 0-50 RSU nodes and 200 vehicle nodes are contained. RSU nodes are uniformly distributed in the region, while the movements of vehicle nodes follow the mobility model in a random direction.

The results showed that the block propagation time decreases as the number of RSUs increases, and the proposed reputation-based consensus mechanism greatly reduces the consensus time. By deriving the dynamic equations for a single-block and multi-block propagation process, we defined multi-block propagation as a blockchain branching of competitive propagation.

See the article:

He L, Li FC, Xu HK, et al. Blockchain-based vehicular computing networks: the communication perspective. Sci China Inf Sci, 2023.