Towards Reducing Energy Waste through Usage of External Communication of Autonomous Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper proposes using external communication in autonomous vehicles to improve traffic flow and reduce energy waste by signaling intent to other road users, promoting smoother driving and better fuel efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach of external communication for autonomous vehicles to facilitate ecological driving and mitigate stop-and-go traffic in urban environments.

Findings

External communication can improve traffic flow.

Signaling vehicle intent reduces stop-and-go behavior.

Potential for significant energy savings in urban driving.

Abstract

Automated vehicles can implement strategies to drive with optimized fuel efficiency. Therefore, automated driving is seen as a major advancement in tackling climate change. However, with automated vehicles driving in cities and other areas rife with other road users such as human drivers, pedestrians, or cyclists, there is the potential for "stop-and-go" traffic. This would greatly diminish the possibility of automated vehicles to drive fuel-efficient. We suggest using external communication of automated vehicles to aid in ecological driving by providing clues to other road users to show the intent and therefore ultimately enable smoother traffic.