Vehicle-based stop-and-go mitigation system
Systems and methods are provided for activating mitigation strategies to reduce or eliminate the stop-and-go traffic. Mitigation strategies can be applied to reduce stop-and-go traffic or prevent a control vehicle from experiencing stop-and-go traffic. The control vehicle can predict when to apply mitigation strategies based on sensor data that can be applied to generate a trajectory for the control vehicle or a preceding vehicle.
1. A method comprising:
determining a first stop-and-go wave based on trajectory of a control vehicle and determining a time threshold for the first stop-and-go wave;
based on the first stop-and-go wave and the time threshold, determining that the control vehicle is entering a deceleration phase of a second stop-and-go wave;
activating a mitigation strategy within the control vehicle;
operating the control vehicle in accordance with the mitigation strategy; and
deactivating the mitigation strategy after a cruise time threshold or a cruise distance threshold has elapsed.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a reference speed for operating the control vehicle.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein determining a reference speed for operating the control vehicle comprises setting the reference speed at an initial speed and updating the reference speed after a stop-and-go wave.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the reference speed is based on the first stop-and-go wave and time threshold.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the cruise time threshold and the cruise distance threshold are determined by:
determining that the control vehicle is entering a cruise phase; and
measuring the time at which the control vehicle travels in the cruise phase.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the cruise time threshold or the cruise distance threshold is based on a maximum cruise time period or a maximum wavelength.
7. A vehicle, comprising:
at least one gap detection sensor;
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to:
determine a first stop-and-go wave based on trajectory of a control vehicle and determine a time threshold for the first stop-and-go wave;
based on the first stop-and-go wave and time threshold, determine that a preceding vehicle is entering a deceleration phase of a second stop-and-go wave;
determine a threshold distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle at which to activate a mitigation strategy;
activate the mitigation strategy when a distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle is equal to or less than the threshold distance;
operate the vehicle in accordance with the mitigation strategy; and
deactivating the mitigation strategy after a cruise time threshold or a cruise distance threshold has elapsed.
8. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to determine a reference speed for operating the vehicle.
9. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to set the reference speed at an initial speed and update the reference speed after a stop-and-go wave.
10. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the reference speed is based on the first stop-and-go wave and time threshold.
11. The vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the threshold distance is determined by the reference speed, the time threshold, and a minimum desired gap with the preceding vehicle.
12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the minimum desired gap is determined by the reference speed, a minimum gap between vehicles during stopped traffic, and a minimum time gap with the preceding vehicle.
13. The vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to:
determine that the preceding vehicle is entering a cruise phase; and
measure the time at which the preceding vehicle travels in the cruise phase.
14. The vehicle of claim 13 , wherein the cruise time threshold or the cruise distance threshold is based on a maximum cruise time period or a maximum wavelength.
15. A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
receiving data from a plurality of sensors to track a control vehicle's position over time and determining a trajectory;
determining a first stop-and-go wave based on the trajectory and determining a time threshold for the first stop-and-go wave;
based on the first stop-and-go wave and time threshold, determining that the control vehicle is entering a deceleration phase of a second stop-and-go wave;
activating a mitigation strategy within the control vehicle;
operating the control vehicle in accordance with the mitigation strategy;
determining that the control vehicle is entering a cruise phase;
measuring the time at which the control vehicle travels in the cruise phase; and
deactivating the mitigation strategy after a cruise time threshold or a cruise distance threshold.
16. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise determining a reference speed for operating the control vehicle.
17. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein determining a reference speed for operating the control vehicle comprises setting the reference speed at an initial speed and updating the reference speed after a stop-and-go wave.
18. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the reference speed is based on the first stop-and-go wave and time threshold.
19. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the cruise time threshold or the cruise distance threshold is based on a maximum cruise time period or a maximum wavelength.
20. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the first stop-and-go wave comprises a deceleration phase, a stopped vehicle phase, an acceleration phase, and a cruise phase.