Design and experimental evaluation of cooperative adaptive cruise control

Ploeg, Jeroen; Scheepers, Bart T. M.; van Nunen, Ellen; van de Wouw, Nathan; Nijmeijer, Henk · 2011 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1109/itsc.2011.6082981

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Summary

This paper addresses the challenge of increasing highway throughput by reducing inter-vehicle time gaps, a goal hindered by the amplification of velocity disturbances in standard Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) systems. The authors identify string stability—the attenuation of disturbances along a vehicle string—as an essential requirement for safe driving at time gaps below 1 second. While theoretical analysis suggests that Cooperative ACC (CACC), which utilizes wireless inter-vehicle communication to share real-time data from preceding vehicles, can achieve string stability, there was a lack of practical validation. The study aims to bridge this gap by designing, implementing, and experimentally evaluating a CACC system on a fleet of passenger vehicles. The research employs a performance-oriented frequency-domain approach to define and analyze string stability. The control design utilizes a constant time-headway spacing policy and a vehicle model incorporating engine dynamics and communication delays. The controller is synthesized using error dynamics that include a feedforward term derived from wireless communication of the preceding vehicle’s acceleration. The system was implemented on six Toyota Prius III Executive vehicles equipped with a real-time computer platform, WiFi communication (IEEE 802.11a), GPS, and a custom MOVE gateway to interface with original vehicle sensors and actuators. The experimental design involved identifying vehicle model parameters through step-response tests and then conducting string stability experiments using a lead vehicle driven by a velocity controller executing swept sine signals. Experimental results demonstrate that the practical performance of the CACC system aligns with theoretical predictions. With a communication delay of approximately 150 ms, the theoretical minimum time headway for string stability was calculated to be 0.67 seconds; experiments were conducted with a headway of 0.7 seconds. The measured velocity responses showed that CACC effectively attenuated disturbances across the vehicle string, whereas the standard ACC setup (without feedforward communication) amplified these disturbances, confirming the string instability of ACC at small time gaps. The study also validated that the simple vehicle model, including a time delay, adequately described longitudinal dynamics. The significance of this work lies in its demonstration of the technical feasibility of CACC for short-distance vehicle following. By validating that wireless communication enables string stability at time gaps significantly smaller than those permitted by ACC, the paper supports the potential for increased road capacity and reduced fuel consumption through platooning. The findings confirm that the proposed control architecture is robust and computationally efficient, making it suitable for implementation in embedded vehicle control systems. This experimental validation provides critical evidence for the transition from theoretical CACC designs to practical automotive applications.

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