Ontario Ministry of Transportation

About: Ontario Ministry of Transportation is a government organization based out in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Poison control & Asphalt. The organization has 4652 authors who have published 3882 publications receiving 59011 citations.

Hierarchical Fuzzy Logic-Based Variable Structure Control for Vehicles Platooning

Abstract: This paper proposes a variable structure control approach for vehicles platooning based on a hierarchical fuzzy logic. The leader-follower vehicle dynamics with model uncertainties is discussed from the viewpoint of a consensus problem. A practical two-layer fuzzy control for the platooning is designed by employing two common spacing policies to ensure system robustness in different scenarios. The two policies, i.e., constant distance and constant time headway, utilize the predecessor-successor information flow from the immediate predecessor and follower other than controlled vehicles. The first layer of the fuzzy system combines spacing control with velocity-acceleration control to achieve a rapid tracking for the desired control commands, and the second layer combines the sliding mode control to adaptively compensate for reducing the state errors caused by parameter uncertainties and disturbances. Shift between different controller parameters is based on performance boundaries to guarantee the stability of individual vehicle and platooning for arbitrary initial spacing and velocity errors. These performance boundaries can be determined by using a Lyapunov method with exponential stability. Simulation of a ten-vehicle large platooning with two spacing policies shows that the control performance of the newly proposed method is effective and promising.

Boosting car safety in the EU

Abstract: Road safety in the EU has improved significantly over the past decades, thanks to effective action taken at EU and national level to address road user behaviour, vehicles and infrastructure. As a result the EU roads are the safest world-wide. This increased safety can, to a large extent, be attributed to legislative requirements on safety of vehicles that have been introduced to road safety. The EU has, in the past, introduced mandatory fitting of electronic stability control systems on all vehicles and advanced emergency braking systems and lane departure warning systems on trucks and buses, which contribute to the reduction of fatal casualties in traffic by an estimated 5,000 a year. The full potential of these and further active safety technologies can only become reality with large-scale deployment in vehicles on EU roads. The aim of this paper provides a comprehensive overview and proposes a way forward as regards improved vehicle safety for the benefit of all road users, that is to say, all citizens of the European Union.