Influence of Sensor Inaccuracies and Acceleration Limits on IEEE 802.11p-Based CACC Controlled Platoons

The paper considers the practical limitations of a cooperative adaptive cruise control algorithm for driving in a platoon of cars which communicate in conformance with the IEEE 802.11p standard. These limitations stem from the limited accuracy of sensors applied in vehicle control algorithms and from the maximum acceleration and deceleration of several classes of cars. The speed, acceleration, distance and relative speed sensors applied on board cars connected via wireless 802.11p communication links are considered. We show how these inaccuracies influence the overall platoon performance expressed in the form of an allowable physical distance between subsequent cars that ensures platoon stability and no car crashes. The sophisticated simulation package developed by the authors has been used in investigations which helped to determine the cases where limitations and inaccuracies substantially influence the platoon performance.