PLATOONING CONTROL VIA ACCURATE SYNCHRONIZATION
First Claim
1. A method for operating a vehicle within a string of platooning vehicles, the method comprising:
- receiving, via a wireless communications link, a control signal of a predecessor vehicle,wherein the predecessor vehicle immediately precedes the vehicle in the string of platooning vehicles;
wherein each vehicle in the string of platooning vehicles has access to a synchronized clock; and
wherein the control signal from the predecessor vehicle has been stamped with a first time base from the synchronized clock;
determining a distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle,wherein the distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle is stamped with a second time base from the synchronized clock;
generating a synchronized distance and control signal based on first time stamp and the second time stamp; and
generating a control action to maintain a desired distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle based at least in part on the synchronized distance and control signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various embodiments provide for platooning control via accurate synchronization that will not result in string instability. Some embodiments provide a distributed control scheme for platoon motion control that provides a decentralized implementation of the leader information controller. These control techniques are able to manage the performance of the string of vehicles by maintaining a desired spacing distance between any two successive vehicles in the presence of communications induced delays. In order to regulate the spacing between a vehicle and its predecessor in the string, every vehicle (with the exception of the leader vehicle) uses the relative distance from itself to its predecessor (e.g., as measured using a laser ranging sensor) and a control signal of the predecessor (e.g., received via a wireless link). Various embodiments are capable of dealing with non-homogeneous strings of vehicles and non identical controllers for each vehicle in the string.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. A method for operating a vehicle within a string of platooning vehicles, the method comprising:
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receiving, via a wireless communications link, a control signal of a predecessor vehicle, wherein the predecessor vehicle immediately precedes the vehicle in the string of platooning vehicles; wherein each vehicle in the string of platooning vehicles has access to a synchronized clock; and wherein the control signal from the predecessor vehicle has been stamped with a first time base from the synchronized clock; determining a distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle, wherein the distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle is stamped with a second time base from the synchronized clock; generating a synchronized distance and control signal based on first time stamp and the second time stamp; and generating a control action to maintain a desired distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle based at least in part on the synchronized distance and control signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A vehicle comprising:
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a throttling and braking system; a communications system with a receiver to receive communications from a predecessor vehicle and a transmitter to transmit signals to a follower vehicle, wherein the communications from the predecessor vehicle include control signals from the predecessor vehicle that are each labeled with time stamps indicating the time of execution; a distance measuring system to repeatedly measure distances between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle over time, wherein the distances measured by the distance measuring system are stored with time stamps indicating the time of measurement; a synchronization module to synchronize the distances measured by the distance measuring system and the control signals based using the time stamps; and a controller to generate a control action to be implemented by the throttling and braking system to maintain a desired distance behind the predecessor vehicle, wherein the control action is based on the control signals and distances synchronized by the synchronization module. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A computer-readable storage medium, excluding transitory signals, having stored thereon a set of instructions that may be executed by one or more processors to a vehicle to:
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receive a control signal of a predecessor vehicle that immediately precedes a current vehicle in a string of platooning vehicles; wherein the control signal from the predecessor vehicle has been stamped with a first time base; determine a distance between the current vehicle and the predecessor vehicle, wherein the distance between the current vehicle and the predecessor vehicle is stamped with a second time base; generate a synchronized distance and control signal based on first time stamp and the second time stamp; and generate a control action for the current vehicle to maintain a desired distance from the predecessor vehicle based at least in part on the synchronized distance and control signal. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for operating a vehicle within a string of platooning vehicles, the method comprising:
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receiving, via a wireless communications link, a control signal of a predecessor vehicle, wherein the predecessor vehicle immediately precedes the vehicle in the string of platooning vehicles; determining a distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle, generating a control action to maintain a desired distance between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle based at least in part on the distance, on the control signal and on the dynamical model of the predecessor vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A vehicle comprising:
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a throttling and braking system; a communications system with a receiver to receive communications from a predecessor vehicle and a transmitter to transmit signals to a follower vehicle, wherein the communications from the predecessor vehicle include control signals from the predecessor vehicle, a distance measuring system to repeatedly measure distances between the vehicle and the predecessor vehicle over time, a controller to generate a control action to be implemented by the throttling and braking system to maintain a desired distance behind the predecessor vehicle, wherein the control action is based at least in part on the control signals, distance and on the dynamical model of the predecessor vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A computer-readable storage medium, excluding transitory signals, having stored thereon a set of instructions that may be executed by one or more processors to a vehicle to:
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receive a control signal of a predecessor vehicle that immediately precedes a current vehicle in a string of platooning vehicles; determine a distance between the current vehicle and the predecessor vehicle, and generate a control action for the current vehicle to maintain a desired distance from the predecessor vehicle, based at least in part on the distance, control signal and on the dynamical model of the predecessor vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification