In spite of their importance and potential societal impact, there is currently no comprehensive source of information about vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). Cohesively integrating the state of the art in this emerging field, Vehicular Networks: From Theory to Practice elucidates many issues involved in vehicular networking, including traffic engineering, human factors studies, and novel computer science research.

Divided into six broad sections, the book begins with an overview of traffic engineering issues, such as traffic monitoring and traffic flow modeling. It then introduces governmental and industrial efforts in the United States and Europe to set standards and perform field tests on the feasibility of vehicular networks. After highlighting innovative applications enabled by vehicular networks, the book discusses several networking-related issues, including routing and localization. The following section focuses on simulation, which is currently the primary method for evaluating vehicular networking systems. The final part explores the extent and impact of driver distraction with in-vehicle displays.

Encompassing both introductory and advanced concepts, this guide covers the various areas that impact the design of applications for vehicular networks. It details key research challenges, offers guidance on developing future standards, and supplies valuable information on existing experimental studies.

…the easy style of writing … makes it suitable not only for specialists but also generalists. …some topics overlap, but instead of being a hindrance, this further expands the vision of the reader on crucial topics in VANETs. Overall, the book is a concise overview of the current state-of-the-art technologies and important research issues in VANETs. …
—Computing Reviews, August 2009

Stephan Olariu, Michele C. Weigle