Inversion Controller for Cruise Control-Based Traffic Flow Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traffic congestion poses significant costs in terms of lost person-hours, excess carbon emissions, and increased vehicle accidents, and existing technologies have not effectively leveraged connected and automated vehicle technologies to mitigate these issues without requiring replacement or invalidation of existing cruise control modules.
Innovation Solution
An inversion controller is introduced to convert acceleration commands into cruise control settings, utilizing a model of the vehicle's cruise control module to generate and output cruise control parameters, which can be used to configure the cruise control module and reduce traffic congestion by optimizing vehicle speed and headway.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a congestion controller is integrated into a vehicle to optimize traffic flow and reduce congestion, then traffic efficiency and emission reduction are improved, but the complexity of the vehicle control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The inversion controller serves as an intermediary component that translates acceleration commands from the high-level controller into cruise control parameters for the existing cruise control module. This mediator approach allows the congestion control functionality to be added without directly modifying or replacing the existing cruise control module, thereby improving traffic flow efficiency while minimizing the increase in control system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system is segmented into distinct functional layers: the high-level controller that generates acceleration commands, the inversion controller that performs the transformation, and the existing cruise control module that executes speed maintenance. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, enabling congestion control integration without overwhelming system complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If an inversion controller is added to convert acceleration commands into cruise control parameters, then the ability to optimize vehicle speed and headway is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of modifying the cruise control module to accept acceleration commands, the invention inverts the approach by creating a controller that converts acceleration commands into the parameter format that the existing cruise control module expects. This inversion allows the system to gain speed and headway optimization capabilities while reusing the existing cruise control infrastructure, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The inversion controller is designed to work with existing cruise control modules from various vehicle manufacturers by implementing a universal translation layer. This multi-functional approach allows the same inversion controller architecture to provide speed and headway optimization across different vehicle models without requiring model-specific modifications, thus improving adaptability while controlling complexity.
3Productivity
If the cruise control module is replaced or invalidated to implement congestion control, then the congestion control functionality is improved, but the reliability of the existing cruise control system is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The inversion controller performs preliminary transformation of acceleration commands into cruise control parameters before they reach the existing cruise control module. This preliminary action ensures that the existing module receives properly formatted commands it was designed to handle, maintaining its reliability while enabling congestion control functionality through the added translation layer.
Solution Approach 2:
The inversion controller creates a virtual model or copy of the cruise control parameter space that maps to the actual cruise control module inputs. This copying approach allows the high-level controller to operate in terms of acceleration commands while the inversion controller translates these to the equivalent cruise control parameters, preserving the reliability of the original module while achieving congestion control goals.
Data Source
AI summary
An inversion controller of a vehicle receives a desired acceleration. The inversion controller includes a model of operations of a cruise control module of the vehicle. The inversion controller obtains a cruise control parameter based on the desired acceleration. The inversion controller outputs to the cruise control module the cruise control parameter. The cruise control module is configured to maintain the cruise control parameter for the vehicle.