In order to realize the lane-changing maneuver of Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAV), a lateral controller based on model predictive control is developed with the three degrees of freedom vehicle dynamic model. Then the controller is synthesized to track the reference trajectory fitted by the quintic Bézier curve. The controller is validated by MATLAB/CarSim under different road adhesion conditions and driving speeds. Results show that for different road adhesion conditions and driving speeds, the controller does not need to adjust the control parameters and can continuously correct the deviation from the expected trajectory. During the tracking process, the front wheel angle, front wheel angle increment, centroid side deflection angle, and front wheel side deflection angle are kept within the limited constraint range. The established control algorithm has good control robustness and tracking driving stability. The research can provide a theoretical basis and technical support for lane-changing safety and control of CAV.

Reinforcement learning (RL)–based car-following (CF) control strategies have attracted significant attention in academia, emerging as a prominent research topic in recent years. Most of these control strategies focus solely on the motion status of the immediately preceding vehicle. However, with the development of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technologies, intelligent vehicles such as connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) can gather information about surrounding vehicles. Therefore, this study proposes an RL-based CF control strategy that takes multivehicle scenarios into account. First, the trajectories of two preceding vehicles and one following vehicle relative to the subject vehicle (SV) are extracted from a highD dataset to construct the environment. Then the twin-delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (TD3) algorithm is implemented as the control strategy for the agent. Furthermore, a sequence-to-sequence (seq2seq) module is developed to predict the uncertain motion statuses of surrounding vehicles. Once integrated into the RL framework, this module enables the agent to account for dynamic changes in the traffic environment, enhancing its robustness. Finally, the performance of the CF control strategy is validated both in the highD dataset and in two traffic perturbation scenarios. In the highD dataset, the TD3-based prediction CF control strategy outperforms standard RL algorithms in terms of convergence speed and rewards. Its performance also surpasses that of human drivers in safety, efficiency, comfort, and fuel consumption. In traffic perturbation scenarios, the performance of the proposed CF control strategy is compared with the model predictive controller (MPC). The results show that the TD3-based prediction CF control strategy effectively mitigates undesired traffic waves caused by the perturbations from the head vehicle. Simultaneously, it maintains the desired traffic state and consistently ensures a stable and efficient traffic flow.

Most of the existing research in the field of autonomous vehicles (AVs) addresses decision making, planning and control as separate factors which may affect AV performance in complex driving environments. A hierarchical framework is proposed in this paper to address the problem mentioned above in environments with multiple lanes and surrounding vehicles. Firstly, high-level decision making is implemented by a finite-state machine (FSM), according to the relative relationship between the ego vehicle (EV) and the surrounding vehicles. After the decision is made, a cluster of quintic polynomial equations is established to generate the path connecting the initial position to the candidate target positions, according to the traffic states of the EV and the target vehicle. The optimal path is selected from the cluster, based on the quadratic programming (QP) framework. Then, the speed profile is generated, based on the longitudinal displacement–time graph (S–T graph), considering the vehicle motion state constraints and collision avoidance. The smoothed speed profile is created through another QP formulation, in the space created by the dynamic-programming (DP) method. Finally, the planned path and speed profile are combined and sent to the lower level control module, which consists of the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for lateral trajectory tracking control, and a double PID controller for longitudinal control. The performance of the proposed framework was validated in a co-simulation environment using PreScan, MATLAB/Simulink and CarSim, and the results demonstrate that the proposed framework is capable of addressing most ordinary scenarios on a structured road, with reasonable decisions and controlling abilities.

With the technical support of an intelligent networking environment, autonomous driving technology is facing a new stage of development, and the decision-making behavior of autonomous vehicles is changing fundamentally, so it is urgent to explore the lane-changing decision-making behavior mechanism of autonomous driving. Firstly, through the analysis of system similarity, the similarity between autonomous vehicles and moving molecules is sought, and the attraction and repulsion between molecules are applied to the lane-changing process of vehicles to effectively recognize the traffic scene of lane-changing vehicles. Secondly, the molecular interaction potential is introduced to unify the attraction and repulsion, and explore the dynamic influencing factors of lane-changing behavior for vehicles. Moreover, we systematically analyze the interaction relationship in the lane-changing process of Connected and Automated Vehicles, and establish the molecular interaction potential lane-changing model to explore the lane-changing decision-making behavior mechanism. Furthermore, we study the impact of micro lane-changing behavior on macro traffic flow. Finally, the SL2015 lane-changing model and the molecular interaction potential lane-changing model are compared and analyzed by using the SUMO platform. The results show that the speed fluctuation of Connected and Automated Vehicles based on the molecular interaction potential lane-changing model is reduced by 15.5%, and the number of passed vehicles is increased by 3.26% on average, which has better safety, stability, and efficiency. The molecular interaction potential modeling of lane-changing decision-making behavior for Connected and Automated Vehicles comprehensively considers the interaction relationship of dynamic factors in the traffic environment, and scientifically shows the lane-changing decision-making mechanism of Connected and Automated Vehicles.

To systematically study the influence of a propensity for a particular driving style on car-following risk, a safety potential field risk-quantification method that considers driving style is proposed. First, we classify driving behaviors and construct a field-based safety potential car-following model via analogy with intermolecular interactions; second, we establish a risk-quantification model by considering driving style, risk exposure, and risk severity and classify the consequent risk into four levels, high risk, medium risk, low risk, and safe, using the fuzzy C-means algorithm. Finally, we predict the car-following risk using the LightGBM algorithm in real time. The experimental results show that the LightGBM algorithm can recognize up to 86% of medium–high risk levels compared to the Decision Tree and Random Forest Algorithms. It can achieve effective prediction of car-following risk, which provides sufficient warning information to drivers and helps improve the overall safety of vehicle operation.

This study investigates the stability and performance of mixed-traffic flows consisting of human-driven vehicles (HDVs), connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs), autonomous vehicles (AVs), and connected human-driven vehicles (CHVs). Recognizing the complexity introduced by multi-vehicle interactions in such heterogeneous traffic, a refined CAV car-following model that integrates multi-vehicle state information, including headway, weighted velocity differences, weighted acceleration, and optimal velocity memory effects from both front and rear vehicles, is introduced. Through theoretical analysis of the model’s linear and nonlinear stability, the key parameters that enhance flow stability in mixed environments are determined. Numerical simulations across braking, start-up, and ring road scenarios validate the proposed model’s efficacy, demonstrating that it can effectively suppress traffic congestion and reduce oscillations, thereby improving traffic flow stability. This work offers valuable insights into the behavior of connected vehicles within mixed traffic and highlights the potential for CAV-based strategies to enhance both safety and efficiency in future transportation systems.