A Coverage Based Decentralised Routing Algorithm for Vehicular Traffic Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a decentralized routing algorithm for vehicular traffic networks that reduces congestion by balancing travel distance and network load, validated through simulations.

Contribution

It proposes a coverage-based routing strategy with tunable parameters to effectively delay congestion onset in traffic networks.

Findings

Optimal parameter tuning significantly reduces congestion.

Network structure influences optimal control settings.

Simulation results demonstrate improved traffic flow management.

Abstract

We present a simple yet effective routing strategy inspired by coverage control, which delays the onset of congestion on traffic networks, by introducing a control parameter. The routing algorithm allows a trade-off between the congestion level and the distance to the destination. Numerical verification of the strategy is provided on a number of representative examples in SUMO, a well known micro agent simulator used for the analysis of traffic networks. We find that it is crucial in many cases to tune the given control parameters to some optimal value in order to reduce congestion in the most effective way. The effects of different network structural properties are connected to the level of congestion and the optimal range for setting the control parameters.