Platooning Trajectory Optimization for Connected Automated Vehicles in Coordinated Arterials

Abstract

This paper proposes heuristic methods to optimize the trajectories of connected automated vehicles (CAVs) along an arterial assuming fully automated traffic condition. CAV trajectories are adjusted to form platoons at the saturation headway, guaranteeing the arrival of vehicles at the downstream intersection during the green interval. On the arrival of CAVs, an algorithm enables a smooth transition to the system target speed. The CAVs’ trajectories are then adjusted by an algorithm according to the vehicles’ positions (leader/follower). Simulation parameters that consider human driving are selected to avoid overestimating the benefits of the proposed strategy. A simulation algorithm is developed to evaluate the performance of the proposed heuristic. The proposed method is compared with a pre-timed coordinated signal control scheme. Seven demand scenarios corresponding to undersaturated conditions are evaluated. The proposed method reduced travel time by 7% to 16% and delay by 23% to 43%. Its computational efficiency makes the proposed method suitable for real-world tests.