Optimal Speed Plan for the Overtaking of Autonomous Vehicles on Two-Lane Highways

In passing maneuvers on two-lane highways, assessing the needed distance and the potential power reserve to ensure the required speed mode of the passing vehicle is a critical task of speed planning. This task must meet several mutually exclusive conditions that lead to successful maneuvers. This paper addresses three main aspects. First, the issues associated with a rational distribution of the speed of the passing vehicle for overtaking a long commercial vehicle on two-lane highways are discussed. The factors that affect the maneuver effectiveness are analyzed, considering the safety and cost. Second, a heuristic algorithm is proposed based on the rationale for choosing the necessary space and time for overtaking. The initial prediction’s sensitivity to fluctuations of the current measurements of the position and speed of the overtaking participants is examined. Third, an optimization technique for the passing vehicle speed distribution during the overtaking time using the finite element method is presented. Adaptive model predictive control is applied for tracking the references being generated. The presented model is illustrated using a simulation.

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