Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment

Convoy driving, a specialized form of collaborative autonomous driving, offers a promising solution to the multifaceted challenges that transportation systems face, including traffic congestion, pollutant emissions, and the coexistence of connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and human-driven vehicle...

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Main Authors: Sumbal Malik, Manzoor Ahmed Khan, Hesham El-Sayed, Muhammad Jalal Khan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/182
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author Sumbal Malik
Manzoor Ahmed Khan
Hesham El-Sayed
Muhammad Jalal Khan
author_facet Sumbal Malik
Manzoor Ahmed Khan
Hesham El-Sayed
Muhammad Jalal Khan
author_sort Sumbal Malik
collection DOAJ
description Convoy driving, a specialized form of collaborative autonomous driving, offers a promising solution to the multifaceted challenges that transportation systems face, including traffic congestion, pollutant emissions, and the coexistence of connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and human-driven vehicles on the road, resulting in mixed traffic flow. While extensive research has focused on the collective societal benefits of convoy driving, such as safety and comfort, one critical aspect that has been overlooked is the willingness of individual vehicles to participate in convoy formations. While the collective benefits are evident, individual vehicles may not readily embrace this paradigm shift without explicit tangible benefits and incentives to motivate them. Moreover, the objective of convoy driving is not solely to deliver societal benefits but also to provide incentives and reduce costs at the individual level. Therefore, this research bridges this gap by designing and modeling the societal benefits, including traffic flow optimization and pollutant emissions, and individual-level incentives necessary to promote convoy driving. We model a fundamental diagram of mixed traffic flow, considering various factors such as CAV penetration rates, coalition intensity, and coalition sizes to investigate their relationships and their impact on traffic flow. Furthermore, we model the collaborative convoy driving problem using the coalitional game framework and propose a novel utility function encompassing incentives like car insurance discounts, traffic fine reductions, and toll discounts to encourage vehicle participation in convoys. Our experimental findings emphasize the need to strike a balance between CAV penetration rate, coalition intensity, size, and speed to realize the benefits of convoy driving at both collective and individual levels. This research aims to align the interests of road authorities seeking sustainable transportation systems and individual vehicle owners desiring tangible benefits, envisioning a future where convoy driving becomes a mutually beneficial solution.
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spelling doaj.art-05a1d0e0aac147ef922f8c6c50c691cc2024-01-10T15:08:56ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202023-12-0124118210.3390/s24010182Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban EnvironmentSumbal Malik0Manzoor Ahmed Khan1Hesham El-Sayed2Muhammad Jalal Khan3College of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi 15551, United Arab EmiratesCollege of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi 15551, United Arab EmiratesCollege of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi 15551, United Arab EmiratesCollege of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi 15551, United Arab EmiratesConvoy driving, a specialized form of collaborative autonomous driving, offers a promising solution to the multifaceted challenges that transportation systems face, including traffic congestion, pollutant emissions, and the coexistence of connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and human-driven vehicles on the road, resulting in mixed traffic flow. While extensive research has focused on the collective societal benefits of convoy driving, such as safety and comfort, one critical aspect that has been overlooked is the willingness of individual vehicles to participate in convoy formations. While the collective benefits are evident, individual vehicles may not readily embrace this paradigm shift without explicit tangible benefits and incentives to motivate them. Moreover, the objective of convoy driving is not solely to deliver societal benefits but also to provide incentives and reduce costs at the individual level. Therefore, this research bridges this gap by designing and modeling the societal benefits, including traffic flow optimization and pollutant emissions, and individual-level incentives necessary to promote convoy driving. We model a fundamental diagram of mixed traffic flow, considering various factors such as CAV penetration rates, coalition intensity, and coalition sizes to investigate their relationships and their impact on traffic flow. Furthermore, we model the collaborative convoy driving problem using the coalitional game framework and propose a novel utility function encompassing incentives like car insurance discounts, traffic fine reductions, and toll discounts to encourage vehicle participation in convoys. Our experimental findings emphasize the need to strike a balance between CAV penetration rate, coalition intensity, size, and speed to realize the benefits of convoy driving at both collective and individual levels. This research aims to align the interests of road authorities seeking sustainable transportation systems and individual vehicle owners desiring tangible benefits, envisioning a future where convoy driving becomes a mutually beneficial solution.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/182urban environmentcollaborative drivingconvoytraffic flowpollutant emissioncoalitional game
spellingShingle Sumbal Malik
Manzoor Ahmed Khan
Hesham El-Sayed
Muhammad Jalal Khan
Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment
Sensors
urban environment
collaborative driving
convoy
traffic flow
pollutant emission
coalitional game
title Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment
title_full Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment
title_fullStr Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment
title_full_unstemmed Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment
title_short Unlocking Mutual Gains—An Experimental Study on Collaborative Autonomous Driving in Urban Environment
title_sort unlocking mutual gains an experimental study on collaborative autonomous driving in urban environment
topic urban environment
collaborative driving
convoy
traffic flow
pollutant emission
coalitional game
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/24/1/182
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AT manzoorahmedkhan unlockingmutualgainsanexperimentalstudyoncollaborativeautonomousdrivinginurbanenvironment
AT heshamelsayed unlockingmutualgainsanexperimentalstudyoncollaborativeautonomousdrivinginurbanenvironment
AT muhammadjalalkhan unlockingmutualgainsanexperimentalstudyoncollaborativeautonomousdrivinginurbanenvironment