A partial flexibility model for vehicle following algorithm

Vehicle following system is a branch of ITS (Intelligent Transportation System). The tacking accuracy is a vital evaluation criterion of the vehicle following system. This paper proposes a partial flexibility model for the vehicle following algorithm to promote the accuracy. We suppose that the follower vehicle is connected to the leader vehicle with a virtual flexible bar with two rigid joints. As the leader vehicle turns from straight line status, the part of the virtual bar which is the closest to leader vehicle bends, while the other parts of the virtual bar are still straight. As a result, the virtual flexible bar fits the trajectory of the leader vehicle and the joint on the follower vehicle forces the follower to go along the trajectory. In this system, we just need to detect the positions of leader vehicle by the sensors which are mounted on the follower. At last, a series of simulations verify that the proposed model has improved the accuracy of vehicle following.