Sensitivity Analysis of Message Reception Probability on Traffic Related Impacts of a CACC System within the Traffic Simulation Framework vtSim

The concept of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control is an approach that aims to increase road capacity and safety by forming “strings” of vehicles. The basic idea is to couple sensor-based Adaptive Cruise Control Driver Assistance Systems with new wireless communication technologies connecting vehicles with each other. In this paper, a CACC algorithm was adapted and coupled with the traffic simulation framework vtSim. vtSim is a traffic simulation and data environment which allows software models of intelligent transportation systems to be integrated into a structured simulation workflow and enables generic and easy model coupling and traffic-related evaluation studies. VISSIM (PTV AG) was used as the underlying microscopic traffic simulation tool. Furthermore, a hybrid V2V/V2I communication model based on a numerical radio propagation model was coupled with the vtSim framework. By using this configuration, it was possible to conduct a sensitivity analysis that showed a significant impact of message reception probability on mobility, measured using time gaps between vehicles. These influence not only road capacity but also road safety. Critical safety situations were identified by threshold values for time-to-collision and acceleration difference between two following vehicles. The study showed that a larger number of CACC equipped vehicles as well as a better assumed quality of message transmission led to an increase in capacity and a decrease in the number of critical safety situations.     «

The concept of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control is an approach that aims to increase road capacity and safety by forming “strings” of vehicles. The basic idea is to couple sensor-based Adaptive Cruise Control Driver Assistance Systems with new wireless communication technologies connecting vehicles with each other. In this paper, a CACC algorithm was adapted and coupled with the traffic simulation framework vtSim. vtSim is a traffic simulation and data environment which allows software models...     »