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Jeroen Ploeg

Bio: Jeroen Ploeg is an academic researcher from Eindhoven University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control & Platoon. The author has an hindex of 29, co-authored 111 publications receiving 4602 citations. Previous affiliations of Jeroen Ploeg include Halmstad University & Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Implementation of the CACC system, the string-stability characteristics of the practical setup, and experimental results are discussed, indicating the advantages of the design over standard adaptive-cruise-control functionality.
Abstract: The design of a cooperative adaptive cruise-control (CACC) system and its practical validation are presented. Focusing on the feasibility of implementation, a decentralized controller design with a limited communication structure is proposed (in this case, a wireless communication link with the nearest preceding vehicle only). A necessary and sufficient frequency-domain condition for string stability is derived, taking into account heterogeneous traffic, i.e., vehicles with possibly different characteristics. For a velocity-dependent intervehicle spacing policy, it is shown that the wireless communication link enables driving at small intervehicle distances, whereas string stability is guaranteed. For a constant velocity-independent intervehicle spacing, string stability cannot be guaranteed. To validate the theoretical results, experiments are performed with two CACC-equipped vehicles. Implementation of the CACC system, the string-stability characteristics of the practical setup, and experimental results are discussed, indicating the advantages of the design over standard adaptive-cruise-control functionality.

779 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A novel definition for string stability of nonlinear cascaded systems is proposed, using input-output properties, and is shown to result in well-known string stability conditions for linear cascading systems.
Abstract: Nowadays, throughput has become a limiting factor in road transport. An effective means to increase the road throughput is to employ a small intervehicle time gap using automatic vehicle-following control systems. String stability, i.e., the disturbance attenuation along the vehicle string, is considered an essential requirement for the design of those systems. However, the formal notion of string stability is not unambiguous in literature, since both stability and performance interpretations exist. Therefore, a novel definition for string stability of nonlinear cascaded systems is proposed, using input-output properties. This definition is shown to result in well-known string stability conditions for linear cascaded systems. The theoretical results are experimentally validated using a platoon of six passenger vehicles equipped with cooperative adaptive cruise control.

549 citations

Proceedings ArticleDOI
18 Nov 2011
TL;DR: Experiments clearly show that the practical results match the theoretical analysis, thereby indicating the possibilities for short-distance vehicle following, and validate the technical feasibility of the resulting control system.
Abstract: Road throughput can be increased by driving at small inter-vehicle time gaps. The amplification of velocity disturbances in upstream direction, however, poses limitations to the minimum feasible time gap. String-stable behavior is thus considered an essential requirement for the design of automatic distance control systems, which are needed to allow for safe driving at time gaps well below 1 s. Theoretical analysis reveals that this requirement can be met using wireless inter-vehicle communication to provide real-time information of the preceding vehicle, in addition to the information obtained by common Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) sensors. In order to validate these theoretical results and to demonstrate the technical feasibility, the resulting control system, known as Cooperative ACC (CACC), is implemented on a test fleet consisting of six passenger vehicles. Experiments clearly show that the practical results match the theoretical analysis, thereby indicating the possibilities for short-distance vehicle following.

526 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A controller design method is developed that allows for explicit inclusion of the string stability requirement in the controller synthesis specifications, and L2 string-stable platooning strategies are obtained in both cases, revealing that the two-vehicle look-ahead topology is particularly effective at a larger communication delay.
Abstract: Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) allows for short-distance automatic vehicle following using intervehicle wireless communication in addition to onboard sensors, thereby potentially improving road throughput. In order to fulfill performance, safety, and comfort requirements, a CACC-equipped vehicle platoon should be string stable, attenuating the effect of disturbances along the vehicle string. Therefore, a controller design method is developed that allows for explicit inclusion of the string stability requirement in the controller synthesis specifications. To this end, the notion of string stability is introduced first, and conditions for L2 string stability of linear systems are presented that motivate the development of an H∞ controller synthesis approach for string stability. The potential of this approach is illustrated by its application to the design of controllers for CACC for one- and two-vehicle look-ahead communication topologies. As a result, L2 string-stable platooning strategies are obtained in both cases, also revealing that the two-vehicle look-ahead topology is particularly effective at a larger communication delay. Finally, the results are experimentally validated using a platoon of three passenger vehicles, illustrating the practical feasibility of this approach.

400 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper approaches the design of a CACC system from a Networked Control System (NCS) perspective and presents an NCS modeling framework that incorporates the effect of sampling, hold, and network delays that occur due to wireless communication and sampled-data implementation of the CACC controller over this wireless link.
Abstract: In this paper, we consider a Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) system, which regulates intervehicle distances in a vehicle string, for achieving improved traffic flow stability and throughput. Improved performance can be achieved by utilizing information exchange between vehicles through wireless communication in addition to local sensor measurements. However, wireless communication introduces network-induced imperfections, such as transmission delays, due to the limited bandwidth of the network and the fact that multiple nodes are sharing the same medium. Therefore, we approach the design of a CACC system from a Networked Control System (NCS) perspective and present an NCS modeling framework that incorporates the effect of sampling, hold, and network delays that occur due to wireless communication and sampled-data implementation of the CACC controller over this wireless link. Based on this network-aware modeling approach, we develop a technique to study the so-called string stability property of the string, in which vehicles are interconnected by a vehicle following control law and a constant time headway spacing policy. This analysis technique can be used to investigate tradeoffs between CACC performance (string stability) and network specifications (such as delays), which are essential in the multidisciplinary design of CACC controllers. Finally, we demonstrate the validity of the presented framework in practice by experiments performed with CACC-equipped prototype vehicles. cop. 2014 IEEE.

318 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper provides an up-to-date picture of CloudIoT applications in literature, with a focus on their specific research challenges, and identifies open issues and future directions in this field, which it expects to play a leading role in the landscape of the Future Internet.

1,880 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A review of motion planning techniques implemented in the intelligent vehicles literature, with a description of the technique used by research teams, their contributions in motion planning, and a comparison among these techniques is presented.
Abstract: Intelligent vehicles have increased their capabilities for highly and, even fully, automated driving under controlled environments. Scene information is received using onboard sensors and communication network systems, i.e., infrastructure and other vehicles. Considering the available information, different motion planning and control techniques have been implemented to autonomously driving on complex environments. The main goal is focused on executing strategies to improve safety, comfort, and energy optimization. However, research challenges such as navigation in urban dynamic environments with obstacle avoidance capabilities, i.e., vulnerable road users (VRU) and vehicles, and cooperative maneuvers among automated and semi-automated vehicles still need further efforts for a real environment implementation. This paper presents a review of motion planning techniques implemented in the intelligent vehicles literature. A description of the technique used by research teams, their contributions in motion planning, and a comparison among these techniques is also presented. Relevant works in the overtaking and obstacle avoidance maneuvers are presented, allowing the understanding of the gaps and challenges to be addressed in the next years. Finally, an overview of future research direction and applications is given.

1,162 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper develops a methodology that allows safety conditions—expression as control barrier functions—to be unified with performance objectives—expressed as control Lyapunov functions—in the context of real-time optimization-based controllers.
Abstract: Safety critical systems involve the tight coupling between potentially conflicting control objectives and safety constraints. As a means of creating a formal framework for controlling systems of this form, and with a view toward automotive applications, this paper develops a methodology that allows safety conditions—expressed as control barrier functions —to be unified with performance objectives—expressed as control Lyapunov functions—in the context of real-time optimization-based controllers. Safety conditions are specified in terms of forward invariance of a set, and are verified via two novel generalizations of barrier functions; in each case, the existence of a barrier function satisfying Lyapunov-like conditions implies forward invariance of the set, and the relationship between these two classes of barrier functions is characterized. In addition, each of these formulations yields a notion of control barrier function (CBF), providing inequality constraints in the control input that, when satisfied, again imply forward invariance of the set. Through these constructions, CBFs can naturally be unified with control Lyapunov functions (CLFs) in the context of a quadratic program (QP); this allows for the achievement of control objectives (represented by CLFs) subject to conditions on the admissible states of the system (represented by CBFs). The mediation of safety and performance through a QP is demonstrated on adaptive cruise control and lane keeping, two automotive control problems that present both safety and performance considerations coupled with actuator bounds.

992 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a framework that utilizes different models with technology-appropriate assumptions to simulate different vehicle types with distinct communication capabilities, and the stability analysis of the resulting traffic stream behavior using this framework is presented for different market penetration rates of connected and autonomous vehicles.
Abstract: The introduction of connected and autonomous vehicles will bring changes to the highway driving environment. Connected vehicle technology provides real-time information about the surrounding traffic condition and the traffic management center’s decisions. Such information is expected to improve drivers’ efficiency, response, and comfort while enhancing safety and mobility. Connected vehicle technology can also further increase efficiency and reliability of autonomous vehicles, though these vehicles could be operated solely with their on-board sensors, without communication. While several studies have examined the possible effects of connected and autonomous vehicles on the driving environment, most of the modeling approaches in the literature do not distinguish between connectivity and automation, leaving many questions unanswered regarding the implications of different contemplated deployment scenarios. There is need for a comprehensive acceleration framework that distinguishes between these two technologies while modeling the new connected environment. This study presents a framework that utilizes different models with technology-appropriate assumptions to simulate different vehicle types with distinct communication capabilities. The stability analysis of the resulting traffic stream behavior using this framework is presented for different market penetration rates of connected and autonomous vehicles. The analysis reveals that connected and autonomous vehicles can improve string stability. Moreover, automation is found to be more effective in preventing shockwave formation and propagation under the model’s assumptions. In addition to stability, the effects of these technologies on throughput are explored, suggesting substantial potential throughput increases under certain penetration scenarios.

893 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The design, development, implementation, and testing of a CACC system, which consists of two controllers, one to manage the approaching maneuver to the leading vehicle and the other to regulate car-following once the vehicle joins the platoon, is presented.
Abstract: Intelligent vehicle cooperation based on reliable communication systems contributes not only to reducing traffic accidents but also to improving traffic flow. Adaptive cruise control (ACC) systems can gain enhanced performance by adding vehicle-vehicle wireless communication to provide additional information to augment range sensor data, leading to cooperative ACC (CACC). This paper presents the design, development, implementation, and testing of a CACC system. It consists of two controllers, one to manage the approaching maneuver to the leading vehicle and the other to regulate car-following once the vehicle joins the platoon. The system has been implemented on four production Infiniti M56s vehicles, and this paper details the results of experiments to validate the performance of the controller and its improvements with respect to the commercially available ACC system.

877 citations