In this paper, we conducted a thorough investigation of existing simulators for running simulations of Vehicular Adhoc Networks (VANET) in realistic road environments, such as digital twins. After careful consideration, we chose a simulator that combi...
In this paper, we conducted a thorough investigation of existing simulators for running simulations of Vehicular Adhoc Networks (VANET) in realistic road environments, such as digital twins. After careful consideration, we chose a simulator that combines OSM (OpenStreetMap), SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility), and OMNeT++ due to its open-source nature and efficient performance. Using this integrated simulator, we carried out VANET simulations in both simple virtual road environments and realistic road environments. Our findings revealed significant differences in VANET performance between the two types of environments, emphasizing the need to consider realistic road and traffic environments for reliable VANET operation. Furthermore, our simulations demonstrated significant performance variability, with performance degradation observed as vehicle density decreased and dynamic changes in network topology increased. These results underscore the importance of digital twin-based approaches in VANET research, highlighting the need to simulate real-world road and traffic conditions rather than relying on simple virtual road environments.