Vehicle-to-vehicle unicast/groupcast communications based on a periodic discovery channel broadcast

A wireless communication device that is a node of a vehicle ad-hoc network (VANET), the wireless communication device comprising:

• a transmitter configured to broadcast a first periodic discovery channel message with a periodicity that is based, at least partially, on an expected rate of change of the neighboring device list, the first periodic discovery channel message containing an identifier associated with the wireless communication device;
• a receiver configured to receive, from a second wireless communication device that is another node of the VANET, a second periodic discovery channel message that contains an identifier associated with the second wireless communication device;
• and
• a controller configured to add the second wireless communication device to the neighboring device list based, at least partially, on the second periodic discovery channel received from the second wireless communication device.

A method comprising:

• broadcasting, from a first wireless communication device that is a node of a vehicle ad-hoc network (VANET), a first periodic discovery channel message that contains an identifier associated with the first wireless communication device;
• receiving, at the first wireless communication device from at least one other wireless communication device that is another node of the VANET, a second periodic discovery channel message that contains an identifier associated with the at least one other wireless communication device;
• adding, by the first wireless communication device, the at least one other wireless communication device to a neighboring device list based, at least partially, on the at least one other periodic discovery channel received from the at least one other wireless communication device;
• transmitting a groupcast transmission from the first wireless communication device;
• receiving, at the first wireless communication device, a negative-acknowledgement (NACK) transmitted in response to the groupcast transmission, performing an action in response to the NACK if the NACK was transmitted from a listed wireless communication device included in the neighboring device list.

A wireless communication device that is a node of a vehicle ad-hoc network (VANET), the wireless communication device comprising:

• a transmitter configured to broadcast a periodic discovery channel message that contains an identifier associated with the wireless communication device;
• a receiver configured to receive, from at least one other wireless communication device that is another node of the VANET, at least one other periodic discovery channel message that contains an identifier associated with the at least one other wireless communication device;
• and
• a controller configured to add the at least one other wireless communication device to a neighboring device list based, at least partially, on the at least one other periodic discovery channel received from the at least one other wireless communication device;
• the transmitter configured to transmit a groupcast transmission,
• the receiver configured to receive a negative-acknowledgement (NACK) transmitted in response to the groupcast transmission,
• the controller configured to perform an action in response to the NACK if the NACK was transmitted from a listed wireless communication device included in the neighboring device list.