Usability Benefits and Challenges in mmWave V2V Communications: A Case Study

Recently, an active discussion on the feasibility of Millimeter Wave (mmWave) frequencies for the Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication have been carried out in research community. We contribute to this discussion by providing a comparison between explicit three-dimensional ray-tracing simulations and field trial measurements on 39 GHz frequency. Three basic practical and relevant cases for V2V communications are considered covering several important scenarios of daily life traffic. A close match between the measured and simulated results is found through explicit ray tracing simulations; thus validating the feasibility of the simulation model and underlying assumptions. Moreover, these outcomes also shed light on the potential and challenges of using mmWave frequencies for V2V communication. The acquired results indicate that the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) levels are sufficiently above the noise level even up to 100 m distance between TX and RX in case of a single obstructing car. Results also reveal the impact of moving vehicle intersecting the LOS between the TX and RX vehicle at road intersection, and they indicate a notable blockage loss in case of short TX-RX separation.