CHRT: Clustering-based hybrid re-routing system for traffic congestion avoidance

Abstract

Re-routing system has become an important technology to improve traffic efficiency. The traditional re-routing schemes do not consider the dynamic characteristics of urban traffic, making the planned routes unable to cope with the changing traffic conditions. Based on real-time traffic information, it is challenging to dynamically re-route connected vehicles to alleviate traffic congestion. Moreover, how to obtain global traffic information while reducing communication costs and improving travel efficiency poses a challenge to the re-routing system. To deal with these challenges, this paper proposes CHRT, a clustering-based hybrid re-routing system for traffic congestion avoidance. CHRT develops a multi-layer hybrid architecture. The central server accesses the global view of traffic, and the distributed part is composed of vehicles divided into clusters to reduce latency and communication overhead. Then, a clustering-based priority mechanism is proposed, which sets priorities for clusters based on real-time traffic information to avoid secondary congestion. Furthermore, to plan the optimal routes for vehicles while alleviating global traffic congestion, this paper presents a multi-metric re-routing algorithm. Through extensive simulations based on the SUMO traffic simulator, CHRT reduces vehicle traveling time, fuel consumption, and CO2 emissions compared to other systems. In addition, CHRT globally alleviates traffic congestion and improves traffic efficiency.