车联网概念引申自物联网，传统的车联网定义是指装载在车辆上的电子标签通过无线射频等识别技术，实现在信息网络平台上对所有车辆的属性信息和静、动态信息进行提取和有效利用， 并根据不同的功能需求对所有车辆的运行状态进行有效的监管和提供综合服务的系统。针对车联网有多项研究，对文献进行梳理和比较可以对该概念的了解更进一步。
根据中国物联网校企联盟的定义，车联网(Internet of Vehicles)是由车辆位置、速度和路线等信息构成的巨大交互网络。通过GPS、RFID、传感器、摄像头图像处理等装置，车辆可以完成自身环境和状态信息的采集;通过互联网技术，所有的车辆可以将自身的各种信息传输汇聚到中央处理器;通过计算机技术，这些大量车辆的信息可以被分析和处理，从而计算出不同车辆的最佳路线、及时汇报路况和安排信号灯周期。
从网络上看，IOV系统是一个“端管云”三层体系。第一层（端系统）：端系统是汽车的智能传感器，负责采集与获取车辆的智能信息，感知行车状态与环境；是具有车内通信、车间通信、车网通信的泛在通信终端；同时还是让汽车具备IOV寻址和网络可信标识等能力的设备。第二层（管系统）：解决车与车（V2V）、车与路（V2R）、车与网（V2I）、车与人（V2H）等的互联互通，实现车辆自组网及多种异构网络之间的通信与漫游，在功能和性能上保障实时性、可服务性与网络泛在性，同时它是公网与专网的统一体。第三层（云系统）：车联网是一个云架构的车辆运行信息平台，它的生态链包含了ITS、物流、客货运、危特车辆、汽修汽配、汽车租赁、企事业车辆管理、汽车制造商、4S店、车管、保险、紧急救援、移动互联网等，是多源海量信息的汇聚，因此需要虚拟化、安全认证、实时交互、海量存储等云计算功能，其应用系统也是围绕车辆的数据汇聚、计算、调度、监控、管理与应用的复合体系。值得注意的是，目前GPS+GPRS并不是真正意义上的车联网，也不是物联网，只是一种技术的组合应用，目前国内大多数ITS试验和IOV概念都是基于这种技术实现的。
The concept of the Internet of vehicles is extended from the Internet of Things. The traditional definition of the Internet of vehicles refers to the extraction and effective use of the attribute information, static and dynamic information of all vehicles on the information network platform through the RFID and other identification technologies. And according to the different functional requirements of the operation of all vehicles to carry out effective supervision and provide comprehensive service system. There are a number of studies on Internet of vehicles. Literature review and comparison can further understand this concept.
According to the definition of the China Internet of Things School-Enterprise Alliance, the Internet of Vehicles is a huge interactive network composed of information such as vehicle location, speed and route. Through GPS, RFID, sens
ors, camera image processing devices, vehicles can complete their own environment and state information collection; Through the Internet technology, all the vehicles can transmit their various information to the central processing unit; With computer technology, the information of these large numbers of vehicles can be analyzed and processed to calculate the best routes for different vehicles, timely reporting of traffic conditions and scheduling of signal cycles.
From the perspective of network, IOV system is a "end pipe cloud" three-layer system. The first layer (end system) : The end system is the intelligent sensor of the car, which is responsible for collecting and obtaining the intelligent information of the vehicle, and sensing the driving state and environment; It is a ubiquitous communication terminal with in-car communication, workshop communication and vehicle network communication. It is also a device that enables cars to have capabilities such as IOV addressing and network trusted identification. The second layer (pipe system) : solve the car and the car (V2V), vehicle and road (V2R), and net (V2I), car and car (V2H) connectivity, realization of vehicle ad-hoc network and a variety of communication and roaming between heterogeneous networks, on the function and performance guarantee real-time performance, serviceability and network in the sex, it is the unity of public and private network at the same time. Layer 3 (Cloud system) : Internet of Vehicles is a cloud structured vehicle operation information platform. ITS ecological chain includes ITS, logistics, passenger and freight, hazardous vehicles, auto repair and parts, car rental, enterprise and public vehicle management, automobile manufacturers, 4S stores, vehicle management, insurance, emergency rescue, mobile Internet, etc. It is the aggregation of massive information from multiple sources. Therefore, cloud computing functions such as virtualization, security authentication, real-time interaction and massive storage are required. Its application system is also a composite system of data aggregation, computing, scheduling, monitoring, management and application around vehicles. It is worth noting that at present, GPS+GPRS is not the Internet of vehicles in the real sense, nor is it the Internet of things, but a combination of technology applications. At present, most of the domestic ITS trials and IOV concepts are based on this technology.