Longitudinal Vehicle Controllers for IVHS: Theory and Experiment

This paper presents the results and analysis of experiments carried out on a platoon control system developed in the Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH). The objective of this project is to evaluate the feasibility of applying currently available technology to the concept of vehicle platoon control. The Integrated Platoon Control System (IPCS) includes a control system, communication system, data acquisition system, and various sensors including a radar system. The control algorithm was developed using a modified sliding control method which compensates for the inherent nonlinearities that exist in the automobile plant. Previous simulation results show that the hybrid throttle and brake controller successfully controlled two and four car platoons. Experimental results using two cars also showed successful results. The automated vehicle satisfactorily tracked the manually driven lead vehicle through two different kinds of maneuvers.