Multi-lane Formation Control in Mixed Traffic Environment

Multi-lane formation control can significantly enhance the efficiency of traffic systems in multi-lane scenarios. However, existing multi-lane formation control methods are mostly developed for fully Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) environments and lack a mechanism for multi-lane formation control in mixed traffic. This paper proposes a CAV formation grouping method and an interaction mechanism of CAVs and Human-driven Vehicles (HDVs), which is suitable for different traffic volumes and penetration rates. Depending on the positional relationship between the CAV formation and HDVs, it flexibly chooses between conventional formation control methods or improved mixed traffic formation control methods. By conducting simulations at various input flow volumes and penetration rates, the applicability of this method to different conditions is verified. The paper also explores the extent to which multi-lane formation control methods can improve traffic efficiency and their relationship with traffic volume and penetration rate.

I. Introduction

Multi-lane environments constitute a quintessential subset of traffic systems, which include, but are not limited to, multi-lane intersections, roadway segments, ramp merge and diverge areas, as well as areas of traffic flow convergence. Within these contexts, the actions of certain vehicles frequently conflict, engendering the potential for collisions. The coordinated control schemes for CAVs aim to mitigate vehicular action conflicts and circumvent collisions, playing a vital role in ensuring safe navigation in multi-lane scenarios. Commonly deployed coordinated control methods for multi-lane scenarios encompass the coordination of multiple single-lane platoons [1] and the multi-lane formation control [2]. However, the coordination of multiple single-lane platoons is often hampered by the lack of interaction between vehicles across different lanes, which in turn constrains the efficiency of coordination.