Longitudinal maneuvering control for automated highway systems based on a magnetic reference/sensing system

The communications segment of an overall intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS) is one of the most critical and complex issues that the designers of the systems and the planners of the field operational tests have to tackle. The mobile environment renders communications complicated. Incremental implementation is needed to ensure substantive final penetration of IVHS services. Stringent reliability and performance measures are demanded by the safety aspect of IVHS. There are basic system design requirements of noninterference to the motorists. Attempting to contain most of such crucial and often conflicting requirements for the implementation of IVHS, the authors endeavored to develop an IVHS architectural strategy for its phased deployment. Finally, the authors describe and propose a distributed communication system architecture concept that has its unique advantages. >

The concept of intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS) is described, and the institutional barriers that the IVHS faces are examined. The goals and objectives of IVHS include improved safety, reduced congestion, increased and higher quality mobility, improved environmental quality and energy efficiency, improved economic productivity, the development of an IVHS supply industry in the United States, major changes in the transportation profession, and the development and deployment of a variety of technologies and partnerships between the public and the private sector. Institutional issues are discussed with reference to public-private partnerships, organizational change, and academia and the transportation research community. >

Intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS) are at work on San Jose's streets and freeways. Moving thousands of vehicles to and from the San Jose Arena, while minimizing impacts to businesses and residents has required the development of advanced traffic management strategies. State-of-the-art IVHS applications are being used to provide attendees with current traffic and parking conditions in order to facilitate and simplify the decision-making process as they travel to and from events. San Jose's Motorist Information System (MIS) is one of the most advanced systems of urban roadway traffic technologies being employed in the USA today. In addition to the efforts being made in moving motorists efficiently to and from events, San Jose is developing a program referred to as Emergency Vehicle Link (EV-Link). This application of IVHS technologies employs automated vehicle locating systems and traffic signal timing strategies to assist moving emergency vehicles swiftly and safely on city streets when responding to incidents. The City of San Jose and its staff are committed to developing a transportation system that utilizes the latest technologies that results in safe and efficient movement of people and goods on the roadways. Managing our facilities through enhanced technology allows us to meet our commitments in an environmentally sensitive way and helps to maximize utilization of our existing facilities.

This paper explores the different functional roles of digital road map databases in an overall Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) environment, using examples from project Pathfinder, TravTek, and other IVHS configurations. Particular emphasis is placed on information requirements necessary to integrate these subsystems into a mature IVHS, supporting multiple product offerings.

Intelligent Vehicle-Highway Systems (IVHS) is a major U.S. Department of Transportation initiative to improve the safety and efficiency of our nation's highways. IVHS includes five related components: Advanced Traffic Management Systems (ATMS); Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS); Commercial Vehicle Operations (CVO); Advanced Vehicle Control Systems (AVCS); and, Advanced Public Transportation Systems (APTS). Although the Federal Highway Administration has initially chosen to address each of these components separately, a number of issues are shared by all components. One critical common element deals with the capabilities of the humans in the system. Appropriate guidelines that consider the needs and capabilities of operators, maintainers, and users will be critical for efficient functioning of each system. Efforts are underway to define and resolve critical human factors issues related to IVHS components. This symposium addresses four of the five more highway related IVHS components. For each of these components, presenters will define the key engineering characteristics, hypothetical scenarios that focus on human-system interfaces, and examples of human factors issues that must be considered in the design of IVHS systems.

For longitudinal control the automated vehicles in intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS) require sensors to estimate the relative distance and velocity between vehicles. High data fidelity of these sensors is required to maintain the reliability and safety of the IVHS. In this paper, the authors develop a methodology for validation and fusion of sensory readings obtained from multiple sensors used for tracking automated vehicles and for avoiding objects in its path. The authors introduce tracking models for the various operating states of the automated vehicle, namely vehicle following, maneuvering, i.e. split, merge, lane change, emergencies, and for the lead vehicle in a platoon. The Kalman filtering approach is proposed for the formation of real time validation gates. This along with the algorithmic sensor validation filter is used for sensory data validation. The validated data are then fused by using a Bayesian method called the probabilistic data association filter. The procedure is demonstrated by two examples using simulated data, data obtained from a platooning test set-up.

Research in the area of vehicle control in intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS) has primarily focussed on either purely longitudinal or purely lateral control of vehicles. This paper introduces transition manoeuvres in such systems. These include vehicle merge, split and lane change procedures. A combined longitudinal and lateral vehicle model has been developed to study this problem. The paper discusses the development of control algorithms for controlling vehicles in such situations. The system does not have a well defined relative degree and hence the traditional I/O linearized approach is not possible without further modifications. The paper presents a method for using the structure of our outputs to solve the control problem. >

Measuring IVHS impacts using computer spreadsheet programs

Urban traffic congestion, inefficient use of energy and excessive emissions are replacing high socio-economic costs on an urban population. The advances made in the intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS) technologies have increased the success potential of countermeasures. The traffic congestion, energy and environmental problems are introduced. A description of the relevant IVHS technologies is given. The use of IVHS technologies to improvements is described. Examples are drawn from North American as well as advanced Asian cities. Conclusions and recommendations are presented.

This paper presents a new approach for autonomously negotiating freeway traffic. It is based on the concept of Velocity Obstacle (VO) which maps the set of vehicle's velocities that would result in a collision with the other moving vehicles. The Velocity Obstacle is computed by measuring the relative velocities and positions of the neighboring vehicles. The vehicle then negotiates through the moving traffic by selecting velocities that are out of that set, but are directed towards the intermediate goal, which may be an exit ramp or another lane. The computation of the VO and the feasible velocity is repeated at regular time intervals, to account for the time evolution of the freeway traffic. This representation can be used to automatically plan the vehicle's motion, or to advise the driver of potential unsafe maneuvers. For automatic planning, we developed heuristics that select the safe velocity based on the location of the goal and the acceptable risk level of the maneuvering vehicle. For advisory purposes, we developed a graphic representation of the VO which clearly shows the unsafe velocities to be avoided at all times. Attempting to drive at an unsafe velocity may sound an alarm and suggest a corrective maneuver. This representation is computationally efficient, and is applicable for on-line planning and warning. The method is demonstrated in simulations for planning the trajectory of an automated vehicle in an Intelligent vehicle Highway System (IVHS) scenario.

Intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS) involve the systems integration of many emerging technologies to effectively address the needs, both present and future of the nation's roadway complex. An introduction to and brief history of IVHS is presented. Then, a more detailed overview of automated highway systems (AHS), the part of IVHS of most interest to control engineers, is given. One focus is on various control issues that must be confronted before an AHS is deployed. >

Minnesota has launched a broad program for the rapid implementation of congestion reduction measures. This program consists of both the rapid deployment of current technology in the area of freeway operations and traffic management and also an intensive new effort to develop and implement new technologies called GuideSTAR that is Minnesota's part of the national Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) effort. A key part of both the traffic management and IVHS efforts is the collection, processing, and dissemination of information to motorists. This paper focuses on the data collection improvements, data analysis improvements, and motorist information improvements.

<div class="htmlview paragraph">This paper reports an analysis of potential costs and revenues to apply road pricing in Melbourne. Objectives of road pricing are assumed to be reduced peak period congestion and raising of funds for transport infrastructure.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">The analysis provides a broad understanding of opportunities for Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems (IVHS) to be applied to road pricing; using Melbourne as a test case.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">Road pricing can take many forms from simple flat annual charges with fuel consumption based variable charges through to systems which charge vehicle owners according to actual road use.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">IVHS developments will be the key to the implementation of socially acceptable systems which charge according to actual use - or a form of charging which partially meets this objective.</div> <div class="htmlview paragraph">As pressure on road funds increases over the next decade, there is likely to be greater emphasis on the use of IVHS technologies to change the way in which road infrastructure is managed.</div>

The spectrum efficiency of cellular radio data networks is maximized by increasing the cell throughput and decreasing the cluster sizes. However, smaller cluster sizes lead to higher cochannel interference and hence lower throughput. A multiple access and collision resolution scheme that accounts for the spatial aspects of cochannel interference is introduced and analyzed for roadside base station to vehicle packet communications in intelligent vehicle highway systems (IVHS). In a wireless network with base stations having full knowledge of neighboring station activity, cochannel interference and destructive collisions are diminished by using discontinuous transmissions and coordination: a base station is silenced (or power-controlled) by a neighboring station in order to improve the latter's chance of successful transmission and decrease retransmission attempts. Interaction among base stations makes efficient use of channel resources for both low- and high-intensity traffic.

Describes the approach of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to gather information and analyze issues relating to the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of intelligent vehicle highway system (IVHS) Efforts to define the expected electromagnetic environment of the roadway, the frequency/spectrum availability based on geographic area, and system coverage for specific and generic cases are described, together with the ongoing examinations of how the electromagnetic environment of the roadway affects IVHS systems and how IVHS systems affect the electromagnetic environment of the roadway.