Design and Analysis of the Trajectory of an Overtaking Maneuver Performed by Autonomous Vehicles Operating with Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Driving on a Highway

Overtaking is a maneuver that consists of passing another vehicle traveling on the same trajectory, but at a slower speed. Overtaking is considered one of the most dangerous, delicate and complex maneuvers performed by a vehicle, as it requires a quick assessment of the distance and speed of the vehicle to be overtaken, and also the estimation of the available space for the maneuver. In particular, most drivers have difficulty overtaking a vehicle in the presence of vehicles coming on other trajectories. To solve these overtaking problems, this article proposes a method of performing safe, autonomous-vehicle maneuvers through the PreScan simulation program. In this environment, the overtaking-maneuver scenario (OMS) is composed of highway infrastructure, vehicles and sensors. The proposed OMS is based on the solution of minimizing the risks of collision in the presence of any oncoming vehicle during the overtaking maneuver. It is proven that the overtaking maneuver of an autonomous vehicle is safe to perform through the use of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) such as adaptive cruise control (ACC) and technology-independent sensors (TIS) that detect the driving environment of the maneuver.