Multi-Vehicle Coordination and Real-time Control of Connected and Automated Vehicles at Roundabouts

Connectivity and automation enable vehicles to transfer crucial driving data and information to improve performance and safety. This paper proposes a nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) control approach to address the problem of decentralized coordination of vehicles at roundabouts. A priority calculation logic is proposed and its performance is tested for different scenarios. We use simulations to test the controller and the Toyota Prius PHEV high-fidelity model is used in this paper for simulations. Simulation results show the proposed approach can determine priorities and improve performance. Also, results show that the addition of energy economy to the performance index can improve the fuel consumption of the vehicle. One of the major concerns in designing a controller for automotive applications is real-time implementation. The results of hardware-in-the-loop experiments show the real-time implementation of the controller.