Cooperative Competition for Future Mobility

In May 2011, the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge (GCDC) was held, providing the possibility for teams to develop and compare their cooperative driving solutions in a competitive setting. The challenge was organized to further accelerate developments in the area of cooperative driving. Nine international teams challenged each other to handle both an urban and a highway scenario. These scenarios have been chosen such that the performance of the implementation of cooperative adaptive cruise control of each participant can be judged. Evaluation of the vehicle behavior has been performed by means of video-based roadside units, installed at the test site in The Netherlands, that is capable of tracking the individual vehicles, in addition to the information obtained through wireless communication. Judgment criteria include both macroscale criteria, such as platoon length and traffic light throughput, and individual criterion, like string stability. Most teams performed well, although clear differences in performance and reliability could be observed. The GCDC showed that it is possible to cooperatively drive with heterogeneous systems. It is envisioned to make the GCDC a regular event and to further extend the active role of roadside communication units, as well as include automated lateral vehicle control.