Sidelink Group Resource Scheduling For Platoons In Cellular Vehicle-To-Vehicle Communications

The introduction of Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) in 5th Generation (5G) networks is expected to introduce a new set of commercial services with stringent communications requirements such as 10 millisecond delay and 99.99% reliability. Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) based High Density Platooning (HDPL) technology is considered as a URLLC use case for improving traffic efficiency and fuel saving by packing vehicles close together at high speeds. However, conventional cellular resource scheduling and mobility management mechanisms are not able to meet the requirements of HDPL. In this work, we propose sidelink group scheduling and mobility for platoons and present a simulation model to improve the management of the group resource allocation. Our results show that a careful selection of the group resource switching time significantly increases the overall network Quality of Service (QoS) provided to platoons. However, further 5G URLLC enhancements will be needed in addition to group scheduling to meet the requirements of HDPL for safe and efficient operation.