Experimentally-Driven Analysis of Stability in Connected Vehicle Platooning: Insights and Control Strategies

Abstract: This paper presents the development of a tangible platform for demonstrating the practical implementation of cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) systems, an enhancement to the standard adaptive cruise control (ACC) concept by means of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication. It involves a detailed examination of existing longitudinal controllers and their performance in homogeneous vehicle platoons. Moreover, extensive tests are conducted using multiple autonomous experimental vehicle platform topologies to verify the effectiveness of the controller. The outcomes from both simulations and field tests affirm the substantial benefits of the proposed CACC platooning approach in longitudinal vehicle platooning scenarios. This research is crucial due to a notable gap in the existing literature; while numerous studies focus on simulated vehicle platooning systems, there is lack of research demonstrating these controllers on physical vehicle systems or robot platforms. This paper seeks to fill this gap by providing a practical demonstration of CACC systems in action, showcasing their potential for real-world application in intelligent transportation systems.