Physics of Autonomous Driving based on Three-Phase Traffic Theory

TL;DR

This paper explores autonomous driving within the three-phase traffic theory, highlighting its advantages over classical models, such as stability and reduced traffic breakdown risk, especially in mixed traffic conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel autonomous driving approach based on three-phase traffic theory, contrasting it with classical fixed time headway models and demonstrating its benefits.

Findings

No string instability in three-phase autonomous driving

Reduced speed disturbances at bottlenecks

Lower probability of traffic breakdown in mixed traffic

Abstract

We have revealed physical features of autonomous driving in the framework of the three-phase traffic theory for which there is no fixed time headway to the preceding vehicle. A comparison with the classical model approach to autonomous driving for which an autonomous driving vehicle tries to reach a fixed (desired or "optimal") time headway to the preceding vehicle has been made. It turns out that autonomous driving in the framework of the three-phase traffic theory exhibits the following advantages in comparison with the classical model of autonomous driving: (i) The absence of string instability. (ii) Considerably smaller speed disturbances at road bottlenecks. (iii) Autonomous driving vehicles based on the three-phase theory decrease the probability of traffic breakdown at the bottleneck in mixed traffic flow consisting of human driving and autonomous driving vehicles; on the contrary, even a single autonomous driving vehicle based on the classical approach can provoke traffic breakdown at the bottleneck in mixed traffic flow.