Systems and methods of autonomously controlling vehicle states

1. A method for controlling a vehicle, the method comprising:

determining, by a processor of a longitudinal planning system of the vehicle, a state of the vehicle;

determining, by the processor, a state of a leader vehicle;

based on the determined state of the vehicle and the determined state of the leader vehicle, determining, by the processor, a critical distance for the vehicle;

comparing, by the processor, a distance between the vehicle and the leader vehicle with the critical distance;

based on the comparison, determining, by the processor, that the vehicle is too close to or too far from the leader vehicle;

in response to determining that the vehicle is too close to or too far from the leader vehicle, determining, by the processor, a target acceleration for the vehicle by applying overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints; and

controlling, by the longitudinal planning system, the vehicle to track the target acceleration for the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints comprises blending the overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein overshoot constraints account for standard, violation, and blending cases.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein undershoot constraints account for standard, violation, and blending cases.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the state of the vehicle comprises determining a velocity of the vehicle.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the state of the leader vehicle comprises determining a velocity of the leader vehicle and the distance between the vehicle and the leader vehicle.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising following a control plan based on a braking leader critical constraint line.

8. A longitudinal planning system for controlling a vehicle, the longitudinal planning system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

determining a state of the vehicle;

determining a state of a leader vehicle;

based on the determined state of that the vehicle and the determined state of the leader vehicle, determining a critical distance for the vehicle;

comparing a distance between that the vehicle and the leader vehicle with the critical distance;

based on the comparison, determining that the vehicle is too close to or too far from the leader vehicle;

in response to determining that the vehicle is too close to or too far from the leader vehicle, determining a target acceleration for the vehicle by applying overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints; and

controlling the vehicle to track the target acceleration for the vehicle.

9. The longitudinal planning system of claim 8 , wherein applying each of overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints comprises blending the overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints.

10. The longitudinal planning system of claim 8 , wherein overshoot constraints account for standard, violation, and blending cases.

11. The longitudinal planning system of claim 8 , wherein undershoot constraints account for standard, violation, and blending cases.

12. The longitudinal planning system of claim 8 , wherein determining the state of the vehicle comprises determining a velocity of the vehicle.

13. The longitudinal planning system of claim 8 , wherein determining the state of the leader vehicle comprises determining a velocity of the leader vehicle and the distance between the vehicle and the leader vehicle.

14. The longitudinal planning system of claim 8 , wherein the operations performed by the processor further comprise following a control plan based on a braking leader critical constraint line.

15. A computer program product for controlling a vehicle, the computer program product comprising:

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied therewith, the computer-readable program code configured when executed by a processor of a longitudinal planning system of the vehicle to:

determine a state of the vehicle;

determine a state of a leader vehicle;

based on the determined state of the vehicle and the determined state of the leader vehicle, determine a critical distance for the vehicle;

compare a distance between the vehicle and the leader vehicle with the critical distance;

based on the comparison, determine that the vehicle is too close to or too far from the leader vehicle;

in response to determining that the vehicle is too close to or too far from the leader vehicle, determine a target acceleration for the vehicle by applying overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints; and

control the vehicle to track the target acceleration for the vehicle.

16. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein applying each of overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints comprises blending the overshoot constraints, undershoot constraints, and critical constraints.

17. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein overshoot constraints account for standard, violation, and blending cases.

18. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein undershoot constraints account for standard, violation, and blending cases.

19. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein determining the state of the leader vehicle comprises determining a velocity of the leader vehicle and the distance between the vehicle and the leader vehicle.

20. The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the computer-readable program code is further configured to follow a control plan based on a braking leader critical constraint line.