Method and apparatus for reducing motor vehicle traffic flow instabilities and increasing vehicle throughput

摘要

A method and apparatus are disclosed for reducing traffic flow instabilities and increasing vehicle throughput by monitoring the distances and velocities of motor vehicles leading and following a center vehicle and controlling the velocities of the vehicles to maintain a steady relative distance between the center vehicle and the leading and following vehicles. Using distance and speed information derived from both leading and following vehicles reduces the loop gain of feedback needed below one (1) and diminishes traffic instabilities caused by “car following.”

主权项

1. A moving vehicle having a current speed sensor, a driver input and a mechanism to control forward motion of the moving vehicle relative to a moving leading vehicle and a moving following vehicle, comprising:
a vehicle controller system secured in the moving vehicle, the vehicle controller system receiving inputs from the current speed sensor and the driver input and providing an output to the mechanism to control forward motion of the moving vehicle; and one or more leading distance sensors, and one or more leading speed sensors configured to measure a distance and a speed of the moving leading vehicle, one or more following distance sensors, and one or more following speed sensors configured to measure a distance and a speed of the moving following vehicle, each of the sensors having an output that is provided to the vehicle controller system; wherein the vehicle controller system provides the output to the mechanism to control forward motion of the moving vehicle as a function of the input from the current speed sensor, of the output from the one or more leading distance sensors, of the output of the one or more leading speed sensors, of the output of the one or more following distance sensors, and of the output of the one or more following speed sensors to keep the moving vehicle positioned at a desired position between the moving leading vehicle and the moving following vehicle, wherein the desired position is variable.