Macroscopic modeling of automated highway systems

Abstract

An accurate macroscopic traffic flow model of automated highways is necessary not only for analyzing the collective dynamical behavior of automated vehicles but also for designing control laws to improve system level performance. In this paper a macroscopic model for describing the traffic flow on automated highways is developed by using the microscopic control laws that govern the motion of individual vehicles. Some assumptions were used to derive the instantaneous speed and density profiles from the kinematics of individual vehicles. We have given enough structure to the modeling task, so that the model is independent of the implementation details, hence can be applied to a wide variety of automated highway concepts. The developed model can be used to analyze the steady state behavior of AHS traffic flow for different operating conditions and is currently under study.