Sto-CAV: A Distributed Simulation Platform for Connected and Automated Vehicles Running With Heterogeneous Technologies and Devices in the Loop

The development and validation of vehicular applications require extensive testing, often constrained by high costs, logistical challenges, and safety concerns. To address these issues, we introduce Sto-CAV (SimulaTiOn platform for Connected and Automated Vehicles), a novel, flexible, and scalable simulation platform that enables remote access and modular testing for connected and automated vehicle applications. Sto-CAV integrates both virtual and physical components geographically distributed, allowing users to execute simulations without requiring local hardware or software. In addition, Sto-CAV supports heterogeneous vehicle-to-everything (V2X) radio access technologies, including ITS-G5 based on IEEE 802.11p, LTE-V2X and Visible Light Communication (VLC), facilitating the test of beyond 5G vehicular communication scenarios where traditional RF communications meet optical bands. Unlike existing solutions, Sto-CAV emphasizes ease of configuration, remote accessibility, and the integration of heterogeneous communication technologies, thus providing a comprehensive tool for testing vehicular systems, accessible to researchers and developers worldwide. This paper details the design, capabilities, and applications of Sto-CAV, highlighting its potential to advance the testing of innovative vehicle technologies, also when they are geographically distributed, allowing average latencies suitable for quasi-real time applications.