Automated Vehicles in Swarm Configuration: Simulation and Analysis

Abstract

Driving automation is becoming an increasing trend in the automotive industry as vehicles become more and more intelligent, while information is shared among them and with the infrastructure via wireless communication. Vehicle organization in swarms is considered an interesting approach for future traffic management, since it could significantly improve road efficiency and safety, while saving resources and increasing system resiliency. In this work, modelling and simulation of swarm traffic flow have been addressed. A decision support simulation tool for swarm intelligence traffic flow modelling including different types of vehicles and roads has been implemented using MATLAB. Functionalities such as driving, lane changing, overtaking and swarm cooperation are included. The behaviour of swarms of multi-brand platooning vehicles on different roads and driving conditions has been analyzed. The parameters that define the automated vehicle swarm have also been studied, such as its size, desired speed, inter-vehicle distance, etc., and how the swarm configuration depends on the application (highway traffic, traffic jam assist, …). The result of this research shows how traffic flow can be maximized when vehicles are managed in a swarm configuration.