Task Segmentation and Computing Resource Allocation Method Driven by Path Prediction in Internet of Vehicles

HUO Ru; LÜ Kecheng; HUANG Tao

doi:10.11999/JEIT250135

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HUO Ru, LÜ Kecheng, HUANG Tao. Task Segmentation and Computing Resource Allocation Method Driven by Path Prediction in Internet of Vehicles[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250135

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HUO Ru, LÜ Kecheng, HUANG Tao. Task Segmentation and Computing Resource Allocation Method Driven by Path Prediction in Internet of Vehicles[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250135

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Task Segmentation and Computing Resource Allocation Method Driven by Path Prediction in Internet of Vehicles

doi: 10.11999/JEIT250135 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT250135

HUO Ru^{1, 2
,
,},
LÜ Kecheng¹,
HUANG Tao³

1.
School of Information Science and Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
2.
Purple Mountain Laboratories, Nanjing 211111, China
3.
State Key Laboratory of Networking and Switching Technology, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876, China

Funds: Beijing Natural Science Foundation (4254064)

Received Date: 2025-03-10
Rev Recd Date: 2025-07-21

Available Online: 2025-08-05

Abstract

Abstract

Objective The rapid development of 5G and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) has accelerated the demand for intelligent services and large-scale data processing. However, limited computational capacity at vehicle terminals and frequent topology changes due to high mobility reduce transmission efficiency and reliability. While current task offloading and resource allocation methods meet basic processing needs, they fall short in supporting fine-grained task segmentation and in adapting to the dynamic characteristics of vehicular networks. To address these limitations, this study proposes an optimization approach for task segmentation and computing resource allocation based on Reinforcement Learning (RL). By combining the time-series modeling capabilities of advanced Deep Learning (DL) models with the resource scheduling flexibility of a Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning (MADRL) algorithm, this method enables intelligent, prediction-driven task segmentation and allocation. It supports decoupled processing and multi-objective optimization of latency and resource use. The proposed framework enhances offloading efficiency and resource utilization in Vehicular Edge Computing (VEC) environments and provides theoretical support for real-time resource management in highly dynamic vehicular networks. Methods The proposed method integrates vehicle trajectory prediction, dynamic task segmentation, and adaptive resource scheduling. For trajectory prediction, historical movement data are preprocessed through trajectory mapping. A Transformer-based model captures long-range temporal dependencies to achieve accurate path prediction. Based on predicted routes and estimated dwell times in different edge zones, a segmentation strategy divides tasks into subtasks to distribute load evenly across edge servers. The resource allocation challenge under this segmentation strategy is modeled as a Markov Decision Process (MDP), with each edge server acting as an agent that interacts with its environment. The state space includes task sizes, server loads, and available resources, while the action space defines the scheduling decisions each agent may select. The reward function is designed to minimize delay and improve efficiency, promoting cooperative behavior across agents. Through continual environmental feedback, the MADRL framework adaptively adjusts resource allocation in response to real-time task demands and server workloads. Results and Discussions The Transformer-based path prediction model outperforms baseline models (Table 1), achieving a Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 0.0116, substantially lower than that of LSTM (0.0246) and BiLSTM (0.0323). To identify the optimal prediction horizon, the model is evaluated across different prediction steps (Fig. 5). The reward increases from 2 to 5 steps but declines beyond 5 due to increased transmission delays caused by frequent edge node handovers. Thus, 5-step prediction is adopted as the optimal setting. The proposed algorithm is assessed against three baseline strategies: binary offloading, random segmentation, and alternating convex search. Under a 5-step horizon and a five-task vehicle scenario (Fig. 6), the proposed method reduces average task latency by 54.1% compared with random segmentation and by 16.5% compared with alternating convex search. By tuning the weight coefficient (Fig. 7), the method demonstrates balanced performance across latency and resource efficiency objectives. Specifically, at a coefficient of 0.8, it achieves a convergence reward of 39.224, exceeding that of alternating convex search (35.872) by 9.4%. Scalability is evaluated under varying vehicle numbers (Fig. 8). The proposed method consistently yields the highest convergence reward across all cases. With four vehicles, it reaches a reward of 41.059, 7.3% higher than alternating convex search (38.277). With seven vehicles, it maintains a reward of 35.630, exceeding the baseline’s 32.524 by 9.6%. Overall, the proposed method exhibits superior latency reduction, higher resource efficiency, and better adaptability across different vehicle densities, validating its effectiveness and scalability for task offloading and resource allocation in VEC systems. Conclusions This study proposes a task segmentation and computing resource allocation method tailored for VEC scenarios. By exploiting the time-series modeling capacity of Transformer networks, the accuracy of vehicle trajectory prediction is enhanced. A dynamic task segmentation strategy is then applied to optimize workload distribution across Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) servers. The use of a MADRL-based cooperative resource allocation approach effectively reduces task latency while improving resource use. Simulation results confirm the method’s effectiveness in minimizing processing delay and enhancing system efficiency. Future research will explore the role of task prioritization in resource allocation and investigate strategies to sustain performance under increased vehicle counts and task complexity in large-scale deployments.

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References(21)

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