Formation control of autonomous vehicle platoons

Abstract

Multi-agent systems consist of multiple intelligent agents equipped with perception, computation, execution, and communication capabilities. Consequently, multi-agent cooperative control has garnered significant research interest. Formation control, a crucial branch of multi-agent cooperative control, aims to maintain or adjust formations of multiple agents according to task requirements. With the advancement of autonomous driving technology, vehicle platoon control is increasingly recognized for its potential in intelligent transportation systems. This dissertation investigates the formation control problem of autonomous vehicle platoons, focusing on their mathematical modeling and distributed control methods. First, a mathematical model of the vehicle platoon is established under practical constraints. Based on this model, a distributed formation control algorithm is designed to ensure stable platooning under various initial conditions. Subsequently, numerical simulations are conducted using the MATLAB platform to evaluate the proposed algorithm’s convergence and stability. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm effectively achieves stable formation control for autonomous vehicle platoons, verifying its feasibility. Finally, this dissertation summarizes the findings and explores future research directions for consensus of formation control in multi-agent systems. The research contributes to the theoretical foundation and technical development of formation control in autonomous vehicle platoons.