Control of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles with Cut-in Movement using Spring Mass Damper System

This paper proposes a theoretical framework to control a platoon of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in the presence of cut-in movements. The control method is developed based on the spring–mass–damper (SMD) system concept and aims to improve the platoon efficiency and stability after a cut-in movement (e.g., lane change and merging from on-ramp). The method seeks to resolve a disturbance created by a cut-in vehicle by systematically setting two control parameters, spring constant and damping coefficient, of the SMD-based control model based on the prevailing traffic conditions. The control method is evaluated through a simulation based on the changes in speed and spacing, recovery time to reach the desired speed, disturbance propagation, and platoon flow. The simulation result shows that the control method can effectively reduce the disturbance caused by a cut-in movement and improve platoon flow.