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Vehicle systems have been one of the fastest-growing fields in recent years. Vehicles are extremely helpful for understanding driver behaviors and have received significant attention from a forensic perspective. Extensive forensic research was previously conducted on on-board vehicle systems, such as an event data recorders, located in the electronic control unit or manufacturer-based infotainment systems. However, unlike previous vehicles that used only manufacturer-based infotainment systems, most vehicles today are equipped with infotainment systems such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. These in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems connect to mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The vehicle can periodically communicate with a smartphone and thus a network outside the vehicle. Drivers can use more services in their vehicles than ever before. Accordingly, an increasing number of diverse data are being stored in vehicles, with mobile devices connected to both the vehicle and the cloud. Such data include information that can be of significant help to investigators in solving problems during forensic investigations. Therefore, forensics of IVI systems such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are becoming increasingly important. We analyzed various forensic studies conducted on Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Most of the research was mainly focused on mobile devices connected through a wired USB connection. The use of wireless-based IVI systems has recently been increasing. However, the analysis of Android Auto and Apple CarPlay from this point of view is insufficient. Therefore, we proposed a forensic methodology that fully considers such limitations. A forensic analysis was conducted on various IVI systems. We also developed an IVI system forensics tool that works based on the proposed methodology.

Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs) employ multichannel to provide a variety of safety and non-safety (transport efficiency and infotainment) applications, based on the IEEE 802.11p and IEEE 1609.4 protocols. Different types of applications require different levels Quality-of-Service (QoS) support. Recently, transport efficiency and infotainment applications (e.g., electronic map download and Internet access) have received more and more attention, and this kind of applications is expected to become a big market driver in a near future. In this paper, we propose an Efficient and QoS supported Multichannel Medium Access Control (EQM-MAC) protocol for VANETs in a highway environment. The EQM-MAC protocol utilizes the service channel resources for non-safety message transmissions during the whole synchronization interval, and it dynamically adjusts minimum contention window size for different non-safety services according to the traffic conditions. Theoretical model analysis and extensive simulation results show that the EQM-MAC protocol can support QoS services, while ensuring the high saturation throughput and low transmission delay for non-safety applications.

Worldwide, motor vehicle accidents are one of the leading causes of death, with alcohol-related accidents playing a significant role, particularly in child death. Aiming to aid in the prevention of this type of accidents, a novel non-invasive method capable of detecting the presence of alcohol inside a motor vehicle is presented. The proposed methodology uses a series of low-cost alcohol MQ3 sensors located inside the vehicle, whose signals are stored, standardized, time-adjusted, and transformed into 5 s window samples. Statistical features are extracted from each sample and a feature selection strategy is carried out using a genetic algorithm, and a forward selection and backwards elimination methodology. The four features derived from this process were used to construct an SVM classification model that detects presence of alcohol. The experiments yielded 7200 samples, 80% of which were used to train the model. The rest were used to evaluate the performance of the model, which obtained an area under the ROC curve of 0.98 and a sensitivity of 0.979. These results suggest that the proposed methodology can be used to detect the presence of alcohol and enforce prevention actions.

In the present scenario, a considerable assiduity is provided to develop novel human-machine interface technologies that rapidly outpace the capabilities of display technology in automotive industries. It is necessary to use a new cockpit design in conjunction with a fully automated driving environment in order to enhance the driving experience. It can create a seamless and futuristic dashboard for automotive infotainment application. In the present study, an endeavor was made to equip the In-vehicle bezels with printed capacitive sensors for providing superior sensing capabilities. Silver Nanoparticles based interdigitated pattern electrodes were formed over polycarbonate substrates to make printed capacitive sensors using screen printing process. The developed sensor was investigated to evaluate the qualitative and quantitative measures using direct and in-direct contact of touch. The proposed approach for sensors pattern and fabrication can highly impact on sensor performance in automotive infotainment application due to the excellent spatial interpolation with lower cost, light weight, and mechanical flexibility.

The growing demand for bandwidth-intensive vehicular applications—particularly ultra-high-definition streaming and immersive panoramic video—is pushing current network infrastructures beyond their limits, especially in urban areas with severe congestion and degraded user experience. To address these challenges, we propose an aerial-assisted vehicular network architecture that integrates 6G base stations, distributed massive MIMO networks, visible light communication (VLC), and a heterogeneous aerial network of high-altitude platforms (HAPs) and drones. At its core is a context-aware dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithm that intelligently routes infotainment data through optimal aerial relays, bridging connectivity gaps in coverage-challenged areas. Simulation results show a 47% increase in average available bandwidth over conventional first-come-first-served schemes. Our system also satisfies the stringent latency and reliability requirements of emergency and live infotainment services, creating a sustainable ecosystem that enhances user experience, service delivery, and network efficiency. This work marks a key step toward enabling high-bandwidth, low-latency smart mobility in next-generation urban networks.

PurposeTo elaborate the nature of infotainment as a mediating concept between information and entertainment by analysing how the concept of infotainment is approached in diverse domains such as communication research.Design/methodology/approachConceptual analysis was conducted by focussing on 41 key studies on the topic. First, it was examined how researchers have approached the relationships between informational and entertaining elements of infotainment. Thereafter, attention was directed to the ways in which people make use of infotainment. The conceptual analysis is based on the comparison of the similarities and differences between the characterizations of the above issues.FindingsEarly studies characterized infotainment in terms of soft news which is distinct from hard news offering factual information. Later investigations offer a more nuanced picture by approaching infotainment as phenomenon with diverse dimensions depicting the topics, focus and presentation style. Studies on the use of infotainment offer contradictory evidence of the extent to which infotaining programmes can increase people's interest in social, political and health issues, for example.Research limitations/implicationsAs the study concentrates on the analysis of an individual concept, that is, infotainment, the findings cannot be generalized to concern the ways in which informational and entertaining phenomena are related as a whole.Originality/valueBy elaborating the conceptual nature of infotainment, the study contributes to information behaviour research by refining the picture of the relationships between information and entertainment.

Vehicular networks enable seamless connectivity for exchanging emergency and infotainment content. However, retrieving infotainment data from remote servers often introduces high delays, degrading the Quality of Service (QoS). To overcome this, caching frequently requested content at fog-enabled Road Side Units (RSUs) reduces communication latency. Yet, the limited caching capacity of RSUs makes it impractical to store all contents with varying sizes and popularity. This research proposes an efficient content caching algorithm that adapts to dynamic vehicular demands on highways to maximize request satisfaction. The scheme is evaluated against Intelligent Content Caching (ICC) and Random Caching (RC). The obtained results show that our proposed scheme entertains more content-requesting vehicles as compared to ICC and RC, with 33% and 41% more downloaded data in 28% and 35% less amount of time from ICC and RC schemes, respectively.

With the accelerating industrialization of 5G-V2X and smart automobiles, the intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) integrated with sophisticated communication, caching, computing, and control techniques enhance the functionality of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) and also provide more powerful telematic or entertainment choices in vehicular environment. The diverse needs of ICV users (e.g., drivers and passengers) can be satisfied during commuting and traveling. However, considering the limitations of transportation environment, the potential attitude and usage behavior for the upcoming ICV infotainment directly impacts on the traffic and road safety in sustainable cities. In this paper, we conduct an online and offline survey to investigate the key factors influencing the user attitude and intention of ICV infotainment, where the answers of a total of 502 valid respondents (i.e., IVI users) are collected in China. A conceptual technology acceptance model with the constructs of perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), social influence (SI), consumer innovation (CI), and perceived risk (PR) is established, and then assessed via partial least square structural equation modeling. We find that the constructs of PU, PEOU, CI, and SI have a direct impact on attitude and usage intention, of which 46.8% and 73.4% of variance, respectively, are explained. The respondents show positive attitudes and higher usage intention towards the ICV infotainment. Although PR has insignificant path with attitude and intention, the driving experience moderation effect exists between PR and usage intention. We can see that ICV infotainment will become a trend in future transportation scenario. Through this survey, reference for traffic safety and usage norms will be provided to reduce the risky of public health issues (e.g., traffic accidents) in the context of ICV infotainment.

In this study, we explored the relationship between objective and subjective measures for usability evaluation in in-vehicle infotainment systems (IVISs). As a case study, four displays were evaluated based on cluster location and display orientation (that is, front–horizontal, front–vertical, right–horizontal, and right–vertical). Thirty-six participants performed tasks to manipulate the functions of the IVISs and data were collected through an electroencephalogram (EEG) sensor and questionnaire items. We analysed a model that estimated EEG-based objective indicators from subjective indicators. As a result, the objective indicators reflected the subjective indicators and were considered to explain the driver’s cognitive state. Although EEG data were collected from only four participants, this study proposed an experimental design that could be applied to the analysis of the relationship between the subject’s evaluation and EEG signals, as a preliminary study. We expect the experimental design and results of this study to be useful in analysing objective and subjective measures of usability evaluation.

Self-driving vehicles are emerging as a result of technological advances, and the range of human behavior is expanding. The collateral information on driving is increasing, and head-up displays (HUDs) can be coupled with augmented reality displays to convey additional information to drivers in innovative ways. Interference between the actual driving environment and the displayed information can cause distractions. Research is required to find out what information should be displayed and how to properly display it considering the number of information, as well as the location and arrangement of the HUD. This study aims to examine the types of HUD information presentation that enhance the driver’s intuitive understanding. The first experiment identified which information affects drivers more in self-driving conditions in terms of error rate and importance. As a result, information that the drivers consider to be of greater importance or more relevant to their safety was selected. The level of HUD information complexity was assessed in the second experiment. The independent variables were the number of symbols, location of the HUD, and arrangement of the HUD. The results showed that the number of symbols was most affected and that fewer than six should be displayed. Besides, the arrangement of contents was more intuitive when a vertical alignment was used, and the main content should be placed in the center of the windshield area. Finally, ergonomic design guidelines of the information presentation type are proposed in this study.