Brief description
In this project, we are developing (truck) platooning algorithms capable of handling any form of varying topography, e.g. a hilly road with rapid slope variation.

Background and motivation
Platooning refers to a vehicle configuration in which one or several vehicles (autonomously) follow a (typically non-autonomous) lead vehicle, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption and road congestion, as well as increasing safety. Such systems being developed by several vehicle manufacturers, and are likely to appear in traffic within a few years.

Most (but not all) work on platooning has been centered on rather simple topographies, typically flat ground. In this project, we aim to extend existing platooning methods, and develop new ones, in order to handle safe and efficient platooning in varying topographies. An early result from this project, whose full name is Safe Roadtrains for Efficient Transport, abbreviated SERET) concerns the motion of the lead vehicle. We have shown that, by optimizing the set speed (rather than keeping it constant, as is common) of the lead vehicle, one can achieve fuel savings of around 10-15%. In our current work, we are applying stochastic optimization methods to improve also the motion of the other vehicles (the followers) in the platoon.

An example of a typical road topography. Note that the scale on the z-axis has been exaggerated by a factor 100.