Low Cost C-ITS Stations Using Raspberry Pi and the Open Source Software OScar

2025-03-19

AI Summary

To address the high hardware cost and scalability challenges hindering real-vehicle validation of Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS), this work designs and implements a low-cost, standards-compliant on-board unit (OBU) and roadside unit (RSU) prototype. The system is built on Raspberry Pi integrated with a 5.9 GHz ITS-G5 Wi-Fi module and the open-source OSkar protocol stack, fully supporting ETSI TS 102 637 (Basic Safety Message) and TS 103 301 (Decentralized Environmental Notification Message) standards. With a per-unit hardware cost of approximately €200, it represents the first ETSI-compliant C-ITS platform in the sub-€300 range. Experimental evaluation confirms regulatory compliance in power spectral density, line-of-sight communication ranges exceeding several hundred meters, seamless interoperability across vendor-differentiated devices, and successful validation of multi-node cooperative automated vehicle (CAV) applications. This prototype significantly enhances testbed scalability and practical feasibility of real-vehicle C-ITS verification.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Plan Execution and Monitoring
• Application Domains: Internet of Things, Sensor Networks & Smart Cities
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Distributed CSP/Optimization

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Experiences and lessons learnt from Web-based algorithms and system deployments
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems

Abstract

The deployment of cooperative-intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) has started, and standardization and research activities are moving forward to improve road safety and vehicular efficiency. An aspect that is still felt as a limitation by the research groups active in the field, is the difficulty to validate the solutions with real hardware and software, because of the huge investments that are needed when multiple equipped vehicles need to be considered. In this work, we present a platform with low-cost hardware based on a Raspberry Pi and a Wi-Fi module transmitting at 5.9 GHz, and on the open-source software Open Stack for Car (OScar), which is compliant with the ETSI C-ITS standards. With a limited cost in the order of 200 EUR, the platform realizes a device which is standard compliant and can be used as either on-board unit (OBU) or road side unit (RSU). The limited cost makes the testbed scalable to several units with limited budget and the limited size makes it also deployable on mini-cars to test advanced connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) networks and applications. Our tests demonstrate its interoperability with other devices, compliance in terms of power spectrum, and a range of a few hundred meters in line-of-sight (LOS) conditions using the standard settings of ITS-G5.

Problem

• High cost of validating C-ITS solutions with real hardware.
• Need for scalable, low-cost C-ITS testbeds for research.
• Development of a standard-compliant, low-cost C-ITS platform using Raspberry Pi and OScar.

Innovation

• Low-cost Raspberry Pi hardware for C-ITS
• Open-source OScar software for ETSI compliance
• Scalable platform for OBU and RSU deployment