Stabilizing traffic flow via a single autonomous vehicle: Possibilities and limitations

Shumo Cui; Benjamin Seibold; Raphael Stern; Daniel B. Work

doi:10.1109/IVS.2017.7995897

Stabilizing traffic flow via a single autonomous vehicle: Possibilities and limitations

Shumo Cui, Benjamin Seibold, Raphael Stern, Daniel B. Work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

126 Scopus citations

Abstract

In certain flow regimes, the ideal uniform vehicle flow on the road is unstable, and stop-And-go traffic develops. The instability that leads to this less fuel-efficient unsteady flow results from the collective behavior of all human drivers. This work studies under which circumstances the presence of a single autonomous vehicle (AV) can locally stabilize the flow, without changing the way the humans drive. If possible, this can enable traffic flow control via very few AVs serving as mobile actuators. First, the analysis of car-following models reveals that in idealized conditions (no system noise), the flow can in fact be made linearly stable by means of a low fraction of control vehicles. Second, we highlight the fundamental limitations of this sparse control when considering models with noise.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	IV 2017 - 28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages	1336-1341
Number of pages	6
ISBN (Electronic)	9781509048045
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/IVS.2017.7995897
State	Published - Jul 28 2017
Externally published	Yes
Event	28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, IV 2017 - Redondo Beach, United States Duration: Jun 11 2017 → Jun 14 2017

Publication series

Name	IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, Proceedings

Conference

Conference	28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, IV 2017
Country/Territory	United States
City	Redondo Beach
Period	6/11/17 → 6/14/17

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 IEEE.

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This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cui, S., Seibold, B., Stern, R., & Work, D. B. (2017). Stabilizing traffic flow via a single autonomous vehicle: Possibilities and limitations. In IV 2017 - 28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (pp. 1336-1341). Article 7995897 (IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, Proceedings). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. https://doi.org/10.1109/IVS.2017.7995897

Stabilizing traffic flow via a single autonomous vehicle: Possibilities and limitations. / Cui, Shumo; Seibold, Benjamin; Stern, Raphael et al.
IV 2017 - 28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2017. p. 1336-1341 7995897 (IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, Proceedings).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Cui, S, Seibold, B, Stern, R & Work, DB 2017, Stabilizing traffic flow via a single autonomous vehicle: Possibilities and limitations. in IV 2017 - 28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium., 7995897, IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, Proceedings, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., pp. 1336-1341, 28th IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium, IV 2017, Redondo Beach, United States, 6/11/17. https://doi.org/10.1109/IVS.2017.7995897

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Stabilizing traffic flow via a single autonomous vehicle: Possibilities and limitations

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