Vehicle path and traffic flow optimization via lane changing of automated or semi-automated vehicles on motorways

Abstract: Emerging vehicle automation and communication systems (VACS) may contribute to the improvement of vehicle travel time and the mitigation of motorway traffic congestion on the basis of appropriate control strategies. This work considers the possibility that automated, or semi-automated, vehicles are equipped with devices that perform (or recommend) lane-changing tasks. The lane-changing strategy MOBIL (minimizing overall braking induced by lane changing) has been chosen for its simplicity and ductility, as well as for the reduced number of parameters that need to be specified (namely, politeness factor and threshold). A wide set of simulations, where MOBIL has been implemented within the microscopic traffic simulator Aimsun for a calibrated motorway network (representing a stretch of motorway A12 in the Netherlands), has been performed. Simulations revealed the impact that the choice of different parameters have on the travel time of different vehicles, allowing also to analyse their behaviour with respect to different traffic conditions (without or with traffic congestion).