Semantic Distributed Data for Vehicular Networks Using the Inter-Planetary File System

Vehicular networks provide means to distribute data among intelligent vehicles, increasing their efficiency and the safety of their occupants. While connected to these networks, vehicles have access to various kinds of information shared by other vehicles and road-side units (RSUs). This information includes helpful resources, such as traffic state or remote sensors. An efficient and fast system to get access to this information is important but unproductive if the data are not appropriately structured, accessible, and easy to process. This paper proposes the creation of a semantic distributed network using content-addressed networking and peer-to-peer (P2P) connections. In this open and collaborative network, RSUs and vehicles use ontologies to semantically represent information and facilitate the development of intelligent autonomous agents capable of navigating and processing the shared data. In order to create this P2P network, this paper makes use of the Inter-Planetary File System (IPFS), an open source solution that provides secure, reliable, and efficient content-addressed distributed storage over standard IP networks using the new QUIC protocol. This paper highlights the feasibility of this proposal and compares it with the state-of-the-art. Results show that IPFS is a promising technology that offers a great balance between functionality, performance, and security.