Securing Level Crossings with Edge Infrastructure and V2X Communications: A High-Performance Solution

The Internet of Vehicles (IoV) relies heavily on Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications to enhance traffic safety and reduce the risk of accidents. This is particularly critical in level crossing scenarios where rail communications rely on their own infrastructure with unique access technology and message types. Solutions for safer level crossings need to be practical and suitable for implementation. In response, researchers have proposed Edge computing solutions, an IT architecture that processes data locally at the network's edge rather than in a central data center. This approach allows for real-time analysis of extensive data generated by connected devices. In this paper, we present a novel Edge computing infrastructure for safer level crossings, leveraging Cooperative Awareness Message (CAM) and Decentralized Environmental Notification Message (DENM) exchanges to identify hazardous situations. Our proposed solution integrates Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) G5 and cellular 4G/5G V2X communication, optimized by a new algorithm for managing road-rail infrastructure in the Edge node. Our algorithm ensures Quality of Service (QoS) for V2X communications and enables road operators to prevent level crossing accidents. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through simulations of different use cases and scenarios using OMNET++, SUMO, and Unity 3D.