Two-Step Asynchronous Iterative Formation Control for Heterogeneous Vehicles in Highway Scenarios

In this article a novel algorithm for the on-line control of formations of heterogeneous vehicles is proposed for highway traffic scenarios. A two-step iterative strategy relying on both a discrete and a continuous space representation, using Dynamic Programming and reference tracking via Model Predictive Control, is formulated. It allows the creation and arbitrary reshaping of vehicle formations in a unified context, providing an applicability in a wide range of practical situations. Only position measurements and basic communication capabilities for global coordination are required for the automated vehicles. Scalability and flexibility are achieved by the underlying decoupled structure of the algorithm, while an asynchronous functioning is enforced due to trigger signals that are exchanged between the vehicles and the coordinator. Different scenarios are simulated and discussed to evidence the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.