This letter considers electric and autonomous buses which have to follow a given route, including fixed stops, in extra-urban roads with a given timetable. A charging infrastructure is present in each stop, allowing to charge the bus batteries. An optimal control scheme is proposed in this letter in order to regulate the optimal speed of buses along the route and the stopping/charging times at stops. The proposed control scheme, acting in real time according to a receding-horizon logic, consists of two modules: a traffic prediction model and an optimal control problem solver. The traffic model measures the traffic state in real time, provides the traffic state prediction in the considered road stretch and, in particular, communicates the predicted average speed in each road section to the second module. This latter computes the optimal behavior of buses by optimizing their expected final energy level, by maximizing their compliance with the timetable and by reducing oscillations in the speed profile. Simulation results based on a real case study show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.
Traffic-Prediction-Based Optimal Control of Electric and Autonomous Buses
Ferrara, A
2022-01-01
Abstract
This letter considers electric and autonomous buses which have to follow a given route, including fixed stops, in extra-urban roads with a given timetable. A charging infrastructure is present in each stop, allowing to charge the bus batteries. An optimal control scheme is proposed in this letter in order to regulate the optimal speed of buses along the route and the stopping/charging times at stops. The proposed control scheme, acting in real time according to a receding-horizon logic, consists of two modules: a traffic prediction model and an optimal control problem solver. The traffic model measures the traffic state in real time, provides the traffic state prediction in the considered road stretch and, in particular, communicates the predicted average speed in each road section to the second module. This latter computes the optimal behavior of buses by optimizing their expected final energy level, by maximizing their compliance with the timetable and by reducing oscillations in the speed profile. Simulation results based on a real case study show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
