Parameter Optimization and Comparison of Platoon Controllers

A platoon is a group of vehicles driving close to each other in order to reduce air drag, save fuel (or electric energy) and increase road capacity. In order to avoid accidents due to the reduced gap between the vehicles, the distance is controlled automatically, supported by wireless messages between the vehicles. There exist many different control algorithms and network topologies, but up to now, no comprehensive comparisons have been done. Fair comparisons require that all controllers are simulated with identical use cases and that their parameters are optimized for that use case before the comparsion. This has not yet been done in existing literature. However, in previous theses, an optimization framework has been developed that can be used to find the best parameter values for a controller based on simulation results. The simulations are done with the platoon simulation software Plexe (see https://plexe.car2x.org/).

Goals of the thesis

In this theses, the parameters of the controllers available in Plexe should be optimized using the existing optimization framework. Then, the control performance of the controllers should be compared. This analysis should be done for different use cases, e.g. different packet loss rates, distance setpoints, and optimization criteria. The amount of use cases depends on the available time allowed by the thesis type (Bachelor, Diploma or Master’s thesis).

Keywords

Simulation, Plexe, Platooning, Control Performance, Optimization, Parametrization, Python, C++

Contact

• B. Hensel