Effects of Adaptive Cruise Control Systems on Highway Traffic Flow Capacity

2002 ◽  
Vol 1800 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Vander Werf ◽  
Steven E. Shladover ◽  
Mark A. Miller ◽  
Natalia Kourjanskaia
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Adaptive Cruise Control ◽  
Highway Traffic ◽  
Cruise Control ◽  
Flow Capacity

Intelligent Cruise Control Systems and Traffic Flow Behavior

1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darbha Swaroop ◽  
K. R. Rajagopal
Keyword(s):  
Control Systems ◽  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Adaptive Cruise Control ◽  
Flow Behavior ◽  
Flow Stability ◽  
Traffic Density ◽  
Cruise Control ◽  
String Stability ◽  
Control Laws ◽  
Traffic Flow Stability

Abstract In analogy to the flow of fluids, it is expected that the aggregate density and the velocity of vehicles in a section of a freeway adequately describe the traffic flow dynamics. The conservation of mass equation together with the aggregation of the vehicle following dynamics of controlled vehicles describes the evolution of the traffic density and the aggregate speed of a traffic flow. There are two kinds of stability associated with traffic flow problems — string stability (or car-following stability) and traffic flow stability. We make a clear distinction between traffic flow stability and string stability, and such a distinction has not been recognized in the literature, thus far. String stability is stability with respect to intervehicular spacing; intuitively, it ensures the knowledge of the position and velocity of every vehicle in the traffic, within reasonable bounds of error, from the knowledge of the position and velocity of a vehicle in the traffic. String stability is analyzed without adding vehicles to or removing vehicles from the traffic. On the other hand, traffic flow stability deals with the evolution of traffic velocity and density in response to the addition and/or removal of vehicles from the flow. Traffic flow stability can be guaranteed only if the velocity and density solutions of the coupled set of equations is stable, i.e., only if stability with respect to automatic vehicle following and stability with respect to density evolution is guaranteed. Therefore, the flow stability and critical capacity of any section of a highway is dependent not only on the vehicle following control laws and the information used in their synthesis, but also on the spacing policy employed by the control system. Such a dependence has practical consequences in the choice of a spacing policy for adaptive cruise control laws and on the stability of the traffic flow consisting of vehicles equipped with adaptive cruise control features on the existing and future highways. This critical dependence is the subject of investigation in this paper. This problem is analyzed in two steps: The first step is to understand the effect of spacing policy employed by the Intelligent Cruise Control (ICC) systems on traffic flow stability. The second step is to understand how the dynamics of ICC system affects traffic flow stability. Using such an analysis, it is shown that cruise control systems that employ a constant time headway policy lead to unacceptable characteristics for the traffic flows.

Smart Driving System for Improving Traffic Flow

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar Gupta ◽  
L. N. Padhy ◽  
Sanjay Kumar Padhi
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Traffic Congestion ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Adaptive Cruise Control ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Cruise Control ◽  
Driving System ◽  
V2v Communication ◽  
Traffic Conditions ◽  
Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control

Traffic congestion on road networks is one of the most significant problems that is faced in almost all urban areas. Driving under traffic congestion compels frequent idling, acceleration, and braking, which increase energy consumption and wear and tear on vehicles. By efficiently maneuvering vehicles, traffic flow can be improved. An Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system in a car automatically detects its leading vehicle and adjusts the headway by using both the throttle and the brake. Conventional ACC systems are not suitable in congested traffic conditions due to their response delay.  For this purpose, development of smart technologies that contribute to improved traffic flow, throughput and safety is needed. In today’s traffic, to achieve the safe inter-vehicle distance, improve safety, avoid congestion and the limited human perception of traffic conditions and human reaction characteristics constrains should be analyzed. In addition, erroneous human driving conditions may generate shockwaves in addition which causes traffic flow instabilities. In this paper to achieve inter-vehicle distance and improved throughput, we consider Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) system. CACC is then implemented in Smart Driving System. For better Performance, wireless communication is used to exchange Information of individual vehicle. By introducing vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication and vehicle to roadside infrastructure (V2R) communications, the vehicle gets information not only from its previous and following vehicle but also from the vehicles in front of the previous Vehicle and following vehicle. This enables a vehicle to follow its predecessor at a closer distance under tighter control.

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