Energy Impact of Connecting Multiple Signalized Intersections to Energy-Efficient Driving: Simulation and Experimental Results

Abstract

Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication connects vehicles and enables collision-free and energy-efficient driving, such as eco-approaches and departures at signalized intersections. An increased connectivity range can connect multiple signalized intersections and lead to long-term energy-efficient driving using richer information. However, no published studies to date provide insights into the energy-saving potential of increasing the connectivity range. In this letter, we present a V2I-enabled eco-driving control that can perform multiple traffic signal eco-approaches, and we systematically design a large-scale simulation study to quantify the energy impact of the increased V2I range for various scenarios. Simulation results show that the V2I-enabled eco-driving control can reduce energy use by up to 40%, on average, compared to the baseline, depending on road attributes and vehicle powertrain type. We validate these findings by evaluating the controller through a vehicle-in-the-loop testing platform.