Micro-macroscopic modeling and simulation of an Automated Highway System

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), which uses modem electronics and communications technology to guide or control the operation of vehicles holds great promise for increasing the capacity of existing roads. reducing congestion and accident losses, and contributing to the ease and convenience of travel. The most sophisticated of all the ITS technologies that may ultimately yield the largest benefits is the Automated Highway Systems (AHS). The AHS approach to enhance the performance of our highways is to apply automation techniques to vehicles and roadways to increase the capacity and efficiency of existing facilities, while retaining the advantages of individual mobility. The idea is to have a system with instrumented highways and vehicles which allows the automation of the driving function.

The overall objective of this research study involves the modeling and analysis of an AHS system, using a simulation tool specifically developed for this purpose. A multi-layer control system architecture that conforms to the one developed at the University of California, Berkeley, provides a framework for the micro and macroscopic modeling of the system. The focus of the system modeling is towards the lower layers of this control system architecture, involving a comprehensive modeling of the regulation and physical layers and a simple, yet realistic modeling of the functionalities of the link layer. The regulation and physical layer design incorporates a complete power train modeling of the vehicle that includes one-wheel rotational dynamics, linear vehicle dynamics, engine dynamics and actuator dynamics.