Improving Freeway Merging Efficiency via Flow-Level Coordination of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles
Freeway on-ramps are typical bottlenecks in the freeway network due to the frequent disturbances caused by their associated merging, weaving, and lane-changing behaviors. With real-time communication and precise motion control, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) provide an opportunity to substantially enhance the traffic operational performance of on-ramp bottlenecks. In this paper, we propose an upper-level control strategy to coordinate the two traffic streams at on-ramp merging through proactive gap creation and platoon formation. The coordination consists of three components: (1) mainline vehicles proactively decelerate to create large merging gaps; (2) ramp vehicles form platoons before entering the main road; (3) the gaps created on the main road and the platoons formed on the ramp are coordinated with each other in terms of size, speed, and arrival time. The coordination is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, incorporating both macroscopic and microscopic traffic flow models, for flow-level efficiency gains. The model uses traffic state parameters as inputs and determines the optimal coordination plan adaptive to real-time traffic conditions. The benefits of the proposed coordination are demonstrated through an illustrative case study. Results show that the coordination is compatible with real-world implementation and can substantially improve the overall efficiency of on-ramp merging, especially under high traffic volume conditions, where recurrent traffic congestion is prevented, and merging throughput increased.
Code (0)
등록된 구현이 없습니다.
Tasks
Autonomous VehiclesSimilar Papers 제목 키워드 기반
Flow-level Coordination of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in Multilane Freeway Ramp Merging Areas
On-ramp merging areas are deemed to be typical bottlenecks for freeway networks due to the intensive disturbances induced by the frequent merging, weaving, and lane-changing behaviors. The Connected and Autonomous Vehicl…
Autonomous VehiclesMerging Control Strategies of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles at Freeway On-Ramps: A Comprehensive Review
On-ramp merging areas are typical bottlenecks in the freeway network, since merging on-ramp vehicles may cause intensive disturbances on the mainline traffic flow and lead to various negative impacts on traffic efficienc…
Autonomous VehiclesMARL-FWC: Optimal Coordination of Freeway Traffic Control Measures
The objective of this article is to optimize the overall traffic flow on freeways using multiple ramp metering controls plus its complementary Dynamic Speed Limits (DSLs). An optimal freeway operation can be reached when…
Multi-agent Reinforcement LearningQ-LearningReinforcement LearningUnderstanding the merging behavior patterns and evolutionary mechanism at freeway on-ramps
Understanding the merging behavior patterns at freeway on-ramps is important for assistanting the decisions of autonomous driving. This study develops a primitive-based framework to identify the driving patterns during m…
Autonomous DrivingAutonomous VehiclesDecision MakingTime Series+1Analytical Formulation of Autonomous Vehicle Freeway Merging Control with State-Dependent Discharge Rates
The core of the freeway merging control problem lies in dynamic queue propagation and dissipation linked to merging vehicle behavior. Traditionally, queuing is modeled through demand-supply interactions with time varying…
Autonomous Vehicles