Adaptive cruise control in consideration of trade-off between following capability to a leading vehicle and reduction of fuel consumption

This study aims at proposing a control method for an Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) to improve not only following capability to a leading vehicle but also suppression of fuel consumption. It is said that a low acceleration drive contributes suppression of fuel consumption, but an excessive low acceleration drive causes worsening following capability. They should be considered all together because there is trade-off between them. A control law for an ACC to balance the following capability and the suppression of fuel consumption using Linear Quadratic Integral control is designed. To verify the control law, two ways of simulations are carried out. One is the simulation of two vehicles consisting of a leading vehicle and an ACC vehicle. The other is the simulations of a platoon of ten vehicles. It is demonstrated that the control law is effective for suppression of fuel consumption by comparison to the existing Two Degree Freedom (TDF) Control.