Search Results (3)

Vehicle platoon studies are essential for understanding and managing traffic on urban arterial roads. The identification of vehicle platoons on urban roads has drawn more attention in recent years. Researchers have been exploring various methods and algorithms to detect and classify platoons, as well as investigating the benefits and implications of their presence on road capacity, safety, fuel consumption, and environmental pollution. The present study formulated a three-step strategy to identify vehicle platoons in the urban road network under heterogeneous traffic conditions. The proposed three steps are recognizing vehicle interaction, the estimation of critical headway, and vehicle platoon identification. Traffic data were collected for 13 h in a six-lane divided urban arterial road using an infrared sensor. A Python program was developed to recognize vehicle platoons. The results revealed that out of a total of 42,500 vehicles observed, 74% of vehicles were in vehicle platoons. The characteristics of the identified vehicle platoons were studied, thus focusing on key aspects such as platoon size, intra-platoon headway, platoon stream speed, and vehicle composition in the platoon. The results revealed a linear relationship between the percentage of vehicles in the platoon and traffic volume. The findings of the study will be beneficial in examining platoon-based data aggregation, the utilization of road capacity, and traffic flow optimization. Full article

This article focuses on the development and assessment of a PID-based computationally cost-efficient longitudinal control algorithm for platooning trucks. The study employs a linear controller with a nested architecture, wherein the inner loop regulates relative velocities while the outer loop governs inter-vehicle distances within platoon vehicles. The design of the proposed PID controller entails a comprehensive focus on system identification, particularly emphasizing actuation dynamics. The simulation framework used in this study has been established through the integration of TruckSim^® and Simulink^®, resulting in a co-simulation environment. Simulink^® serves as the platform for control action implementation, while TruckSim^® simulates the vehicle’s dynamic behavior, thereby closely replicating real world conditions. The significant effort in fine-tuning the PID controller is described in detail, including the system identification of the linearized longitudinal dynamic model of the truck. The implementation is followed by an extensive series of simulation tests, systematically evaluating the controller’s performance, stability, and robustness. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller in various leading truck operational scenarios. Furthermore, the controller’s robustness to large fluctuations in road grade and payload weight, which is commonly experienced in commercial vehicles, is evaluated. The simulation results indicate the controller’s ability to compensate for changes in both road grade and payload. Additionally, an initial assessment of the controller’s efficiency is conducted by comparing the commanded control efforts (total torque on wheels) along with the total fuel consumed. This initial analysis suggests that the controller exhibits minimal aggressive tendencies. Full article

As a result of vehicle platooning, advantages including decreased traffic congestion and improved fuel economy are expected. Vehicles in a platoon move in a single line, closely spaced, and at a constant speed. Vehicle-to-vehicle communications and sensor data help keep the platoon formation in place, and the CACC system is responsible for maintaining it. In reality, V2V transmissions are essential for reducing platooning distances while still ensuring their safety and security. It is far more difficult to confirm the veracity of a V2V message’s content than it is to verify its integrity and source authentication. Only platoon members can send and receive V2V communications by implementing a practical access control mechanism. The goal is to link a prospective platoon member’s digital identification to their actual location inside the unit. A physical challenge–response interaction is used in the CAVVPM process to verify that a prospective platoon member respects the rules. The applicant is asked to perform a series of random longitudinal movements, thus, the protocol’s name. Remote attackers cannot join the platoon or send bogus CACC communications because CAVVPM blocks them. CAVVPM is more resistant to pre-recording assaults than previous work, and it can validate that the candidate is precisely behind the verifier in the same lane compared to previous studies. Full article