Vehicle Platooning Route Coordination for Overlapping Trip Segments
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of vehicles on roadways outpaces the construction of new roadways, leading to traffic congestion and inefficiencies, with existing technologies struggling to optimize vehicle routing and platooning for improved efficiency and safety.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for multi-vehicle aware routing and scheduling that uses a central server to match vehicles with suitable platoons, optimizing routes and schedules to maximize platooning efficiency, including the use of communication protocols for vehicle-to-vehicle communication and route segmentation to facilitate platoon formation and operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If vehicles travel independently on their own routes, then each vehicle can optimize its individual route, but overall roadway efficiency is reduced and traffic congestion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple independent vehicle routes into coordinated platoons by identifying overlapping route segments and synchronizing vehicle schedules. Vehicles that would otherwise travel separately are combined into platoons traveling together on shared road segments, transforming individual route optimization into collective platoon optimization that improves overall roadway efficiency and reduces congestion.
2Use of energy by moving object
If vehicles form platoons, then fuel efficiency and roadway capacity improve, but route planning complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a platoon coordinator as an intermediary system that manages the complexity of multi-vehicle route planning and synchronization. This coordinator receives route requests from multiple vehicles, identifies platoon formation opportunities, calculates optimal platoon routes and schedules, and coordinates vehicle merging and splitting operations. By centralizing this coordination function, the system achieves fuel-efficient platooning without requiring each vehicle to independently solve complex optimization problems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the platoon formation process into distinct phases: route request submission, platoon identification, route optimization, schedule synchronization, and execution. This segmentation breaks down the complex task of multi-vehicle coordination into manageable steps, allowing the system to handle fuel efficiency optimization, route planning, and timing coordination as separate but integrated functions.
3Productivity
If vehicles synchronize arrivals at merge points, then platoon formation efficiency improves, but flexibility in route selection and timing is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic route and schedule adjustment capabilities that allow platoon parameters to be optimized in real-time based on vehicle availability, road conditions, and efficiency opportunities. The system can dynamically create new platoons, dissolve existing ones, adjust merge point locations, and modify schedules as vehicles join or leave the platoon network. This dynamic approach maintains high formation efficiency while preserving flexibility in route and timing decisions.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~4F
AI summary
A method, apparatus and computer program products are provided for generating routes for vehicles participating in a platooning plan, where the routes are influenced by one another. Methods may include receiving a first trip request including a first vehicle identification, a first trip origin, and a first trip destination; receiving a second trip request including a second vehicle identification, a second trip origin, and a second trip destination, where the first trip origin, second trip origin, first trip destination, and second trip destination are all different; generating a platooning plan that includes a first route and a second route, where the first route and the second route overlap for at least a portion of the respective route, where at least one of the first route and the second route are generated with an influence from the other of the first route and the second route.