Cooperative Smart Lane Selection for Traffic Flow Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles on multi-lane roadways often need to slow down due to slower traffic downstream, leading to undesirable speed reductions, and existing methods do not effectively allow vehicles to change lanes to maintain their desired speed without causing traffic perturbations.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method for cooperative smart lane selection that parses road segments into inter-lane zones, integrates vehicle data, calculates flow factors for each lane, and controls vehicles to initiate lane changes into kinematically similar lanes based on these factors, allowing vehicles to maintain their desired speed while minimizing lane changes and traffic disruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If upstream vehicles change lanes frequently to maintain desired speed, then speed maintenance is improved, but traffic perturbations and dangerous lane changes increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary lane selection by calculating flow factors for downstream zones before the vehicle reaches the decision point. By integrating vehicle data into inter-lane zones and computing flow factors in advance, the system enables upstream vehicles to execute lane changes smoothly before encountering speed disruptions, thereby maintaining desired speed while reducing erratic lane changes and traffic perturbations
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously integrates real-time vehicle data from multiple sources and uses this feedback to dynamically calculate flow factors for each lane. This feedback mechanism allows the system to adapt to changing traffic conditions downstream and guide vehicles into lanes with favorable flow characteristics, maintaining speed while minimizing dangerous lane changes through informed decision-making
2Stability of the object's composition
If vehicles slow down to match downstream traffic speed, then traffic flow stability is improved, but upstream vehicle productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the road into multiple inter-lane zones with buffer zones and implementation zones. By dividing the traffic flow into these segments and calculating flow factors for each lane within each zone, the system enables upstream vehicles to selectively enter lanes with higher flow characteristics, maintaining productivity while contributing to overall traffic stability through distributed lane selection
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies local quality by calculating distinct flow factors for each lane based on local traffic conditions in downstream zones. Instead of imposing a uniform speed reduction on all vehicles, the system identifies specific lanes with favorable flow characteristics and guides vehicles into those lanes, thereby maintaining upstream vehicle productivity while preserving traffic flow stability through localized lane optimization
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for cooperative smart lane selection are described. According to one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for cooperative smart lane selection includes receiving vehicle data for a plurality of vehicles. Each vehicle in the plurality of vehicles is travelling along a road segment having a plurality of lanes. The road segment is parsed into a plurality of inter-lane zones including a buffer zone and an implementation zone downstream of the buffer zone. Each inter-lane zone includes the lanes of the plurality of lanes. The computer-implemented method includes integrating the vehicle data into the plurality inter-lane zones by lane of the plurality of lanes. The computer-implemented method also includes calculating flow factors for the lanes in the implementation zone. The computer-implemented method further includes selecting a lane from the plurality of lanes based on the flow factors and controlling a host vehicle based on the flow factors.