Cooperative autonomous platoon maneuvers on highways

This paper presents an approach for formulating dynamic cooperative maneuvers for platoons of autonomous vehicles. Each member of a platoon is represented by a dynamic model and has a set of tactical and operational controllers in the form of hierarchical event-chains and low-level longitudinal/latitudinal controllers. These models and controllers are incorporated in simulation environments and demonstrate the ability for platoons to cooperatively maneuver around each other and other hazards. Multiple vehicles in convoys drive autonomously down a two-lane roadway and are simulated to ensure a safe and cooperative operation taking into account a raft of widely varying requirements that exist in a public transport environments. A set of concepts such as event conditions, sub-chaining and limited progression are introduced and used to promote responsive maneuver patterns. Results from a multiple convoy simulation validate the strategy presented.