Fast energy-aware OLSR routing in VANETs by means of a parallel evolutionary algorithm
To address the high energy consumption and slow convergence of the Optimized Link State Routing (OLSR) protocol in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), this paper proposes an energy-aware routing optimization method based on a parallel evolutionary algorithm. Specifically, a parallel genetic algorithm is integrated into the OLSR control plane, coupled with distributed fitness evaluation and a mobility prediction model to jointly optimize topology awareness, energy balancing, and low-latency path selection. Furthermore, the OLSR protocol is extended to support dynamic feedback of node energy states. NS-2 simulation results demonstrate that, compared to standard OLSR, the proposed approach reduces average energy consumption by 32%, accelerates routing convergence by a factor of 2.1, and decreases end-to-end delay by 27%. These improvements significantly enhance both energy efficiency and real-time performance in VANETs.