Platoon Selection Controller for Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Joining
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle platooning systems lack efficient methods to optimize fuel consumption and mission performance by determining the best platoon for a target vehicle to join based on various dynamic and static variables, leading to suboptimal fuel efficiency and increased computational costs.
Innovation Solution
An optimization controller that evaluates characteristics of multiple platoons, including vehicle health, route, and environmental factors, to determine the most fuel-efficient platoon for a target vehicle to join, using vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication networks to coordinate the vehicle's entry into the selected platoon.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If vehicle platooning systems evaluate multiple platoons to optimize fuel consumption, then fuel efficiency improves, but computational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the platoon selection process into distinct evaluation stages: initial platoon identification, detailed characteristic assessment, and final selection. This segmentation allows the system to process multiple platoons efficiently by breaking down the computational task into manageable segments, reducing overall computational costs while maintaining fuel optimization benefits
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-evaluating platoon characteristics and maintaining updated profiles of multiple platoons before the target vehicle needs to join. This advance preparation stores essential information about vehicle health, route compatibility, and environmental factors, enabling faster decision-making at the moment of platoon joining without excessive computational burden
2Loss of energy
If vehicle platooning systems evaluate multiple platoons to optimize fuel consumption, then fuel efficiency improves, but network bandwidth requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential platoon characteristics needed for evaluation (vehicle health status, route information, environmental factors) from the complete platoon data set. By taking out only the relevant information required for fuel efficiency assessment, the system reduces network bandwidth requirements while still enabling comprehensive platoon comparison and selection
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial evaluation by assessing only the critical parameters necessary for platoon selection rather than analyzing all possible platoon attributes. This partial action approach evaluates sufficient information to make informed fuel efficiency decisions without transmitting or processing excessive data, thereby reducing network bandwidth consumption
Data Source
AI summary
A method, an optimization controller, and combustion engine are disclosed. The method includes determining, by an optimization controller, values of a performance parameter of a target vehicle using characteristics of at least two platoons travelling on a roadway, each of the values corresponding to a platoon of the at least two platoons; selecting, by the optimization controller, one of the at least two platoons based on a comparison of the values of the performance parameter, and coordinating, by the optimization controller, for the target vehicle to join the selected of the at least two platoons.