Virtual Rings on Highways: Traffic Control by Connected Automated Vehicles

TL;DR

This paper explores how connected automated vehicles can use vehicle-to-everything connectivity to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion on highways through advanced control strategies.

Contribution

It introduces a traffic control framework utilizing connectivity for automated vehicles, analyzing its impact on traffic stability and energy efficiency.

Findings

Connectivity-based control improves traffic smoothness

Enhanced stability of traffic flow with proposed controllers

Numerical simulations confirm energy efficiency benefits

Abstract

This work gives introduction to traffic control by connected automated vehicles. The influence of vehicle control on vehicular traffic and traffic control strategies are discussed and compared. It is highlighted that vehicle-to-everything connectivity allows connected automated vehicles to access the state of the traffic behind them such that feedback can be utilized to mitigate evolving congestions. Numerical simulations demonstrate that such connectivity-based traffic control is beneficial for smoothness and energy efficiency of highway traffic. The dynamics and stability of traffic flow, under the proposed controllers, are analyzed in detail to construct stability charts that guide the selection of stabilizing control gains.