SoSE 2020 • IEEE 15th International Conference of System of Systems Engineering • June 2-4, 2020 Budapest, Hungary
Model predictive control of a vehicle platoon
Simone Graffione
DIBRIS – Department on Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics
and System Engineering,
University of Genova
Genova - Italy
(email: simo.graffio@gmail.com)
Roberto Sacile
DIBRIS – Department on Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics
and System Engineering,
University of Genova
Genova - Italy
(email: roberto.sacile@unige.it)
Abstract— The objective of this paper is to develop a model
predictive control (MPC) approach to control the inter
vehicular distance and the speed in a vehicle platoon in order to
improve road safety and to minimize fuel consumption. It is
assumed to have a multicast topology communication system
among vehicles. The dynamic model of each single car considers
the tractive force, its aerodynamic, and the rolling resistance of
the vehicles. The control law is dedicated to manage the
longitudinal spacing of the platoon according to leader’s
behavior. The objective is to minimize the tractive force to be
applied to each vehicle in order to maintain a constant distance
among vehicles according to position and speed reference
values. The non-linear cinematic model has been linearized
around its previous state value. The centralized controller
regulates vehicle accelerations or decelerations over a time
horizon. The objective is to optimize the cost function, which
minimizes the square deviations of positions, speeds, and
tractive forces, as well as the predefined inter vehicular
distances in the platoon. The control model has been tested in
two case studies that impose, respectively, constant and time
varying speed reference values. The results demonstrate the
effectiveness of the proposed approach with special relevance to
the constant speed case.
Keywords— vehicle platoon, longitudinal control, MPC
control, autonomous vehicle.
I. INTRODUCTION
Studies about vehicular platoon systems have gained growing
recent interest in literature due to the significant contribution
to increase road safety and highway management efficiency
[1]. Besides, the string-like structure of vehicle platoons
allows reducing road traffic and optimizing consumption
while maintaining a constant distance among consecutive
vehicles [2].
In the near future, one of the main challenges in the
transportation and traffic sector is to control autonomous
vehicles connected to each other and to the environment by
vehicles-to-everything communication systems. This
ambitious target may be realized increasing the automation
until the levels 3 or 4 in the automated driving classification
levels according to the German Association of Automotive
Industry (VDA) [3].
In the literature, the main control models for vehicular
platoon systems are dedicated mostly on lateral and
longitudinal control [4]. This paper focuses on the longitudinal
control.
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Chiara Bersani
DIBRIS – Department on Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics
and System Engineering,
University of Genova
Genova - Italy
(email: chiara.bersani@unige.it)
Enrico Zero
DIBRIS – Department on Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics
and System Engineering,
University of Genova
Genova - Italy
(email: enrico.zero@dibris.unige.it)
Several necessary considerations have to be introduced to
define the control strategy to manage a sequence of vehicles.
The main objective of the longitudinal platoon-based driving
pattern is to keep a constant inter-vehicular distance among
vehicles of the same group and to keep a consensual speed
[5]. Such approach is very often found in high speed train
inter-distance management [6][7]. Also large literature is
dedicated to robust control system for mechanical and
electrical dynamics of electrical vehicles [8]. Evidently, a
platoon represents a complex System of Systems of vehicles.
Each driver or autonomous vehicle may represents a single
subsystem which, anyway, has to move cooperating in the
platoon in order to control and to manage the speed and/or
distance in accordance to the adjacent vehicle movements.
In [9], the authors assumed that each vehicle managed its
positions, by its sensors, computing and maintaining a pre-
defined distance only with the previous vehicle in the platoon.
In a cooperative approach, an intervehicle communication
system has to be applied. Those assumptions imply the
exchange of large amount of information among subsystems.
In [2], the authors demonstrated that, due to dynamical
complexity of the system, possible macroscopic anomalous
behaviour may appear in the platoon management if only the
distances of the neighbouring vehicles is available. On the
other hand, if the control also takes into account the leader’s
distance, the disturbances on the platooning coordination may
be prevented. Different research works are dedicated to
control strategies for vehicle platooning. In [10], the authors
presented a proportional derivative longitudinal controller of
a platoon to manage a constant inter-vehicle distance. Another
study [11] proposed to control the velocity-dependent space
between any two vehicles in platoons.
In this paper, a longitudinal control law for the
management of a vehicle platoon is presented. The main
contribution of the presented work is the application of the
model predictive control (MPC) approach to estimate the
intra-vehicular distance and speed of the vehicles in the
platoon in each time interval of the time horizon while the
controllers operate on the actuators (torques) to make
positions and speeds close to reference values.
II. VEHICLE PLATOON MODEL
In this section, the vehicle dynamic model is described.
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S. Graffione et al. • Model predictive control of a vehicle platoon

A. Nomenclature backward, and the rolling resistance are considered. Other

The Table I includes the notation for variables and forces are the drag force (air resistance) and the force
parameters used in the control model. generated by the road pitch angle (see Figure 2)[12]. So, the
vehicle motion equation is
‫ݔ‬ Longitudinal displacement of the vehicle ݉‫ݔ‬ሷ ൌ ‫ܨ‬௫ǡ௙ ൅ ‫ܨ‬௫ǡ௥ െ ܴ௫ǡ௙ െ ܴ௫ǡ௥ െ ‫ܨ‬௔௘௥௢ െ ‫ܨ‬௥௢௔ௗ (1)
‫ݔ‬ሶ Longitudinal speed of the vehicle
‫ݔ‬ሷ Longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle
߬ Applied torque to the wheels
ߠ Road pitch angle
‫ܥ‬ௗ஺ Air drag coefficient
ܽ, ܾ Parameter of road friction force
‫ܨ‬௭ Vertical load of the vehicle
‫ܨ‬௔௘௥௢ Drag force of the vehicle
ߩ Air density coefficient Fig. 2. Longitudinal forces of a vehicle
ܴ௫ǡ௙ Rolling resistance of the front wheels
Aggregating the terms related to the forces applied on the
ܴ௫ǡ௥ Rolling resistance of the rear wheels front and rear parts of the vehicle, the model may be rewritten
‫ܨ‬௫ǡ௙ Force generated by the front wheels as
‫ܨ‬௫ǡ௥ Force generated by the rear wheels ݉‫ݔ‬ሷ ൌ ‫ܨ‬௫ െ ܴ௫ െ ‫ܨ‬௔௘௥௢ െ ‫ܨ‬௥௢௔ௗ (1’)
݃ Gravity force
where
‫ܯ‬ Number of vehicle in the platoon
− ߬ is the wheel torque;
݉ Mass of the vehicle
்
‫ݎ‬௪ Wheel radius − ‫ܨ‬௫ ൌ ೙ ߬ are the force generated by the all wheels
௥ೢ
ܶ௡ Number of tires that have tractive force of the car;
ܶ௦ Sample time (in milliseconds) − ‫ܨ‬௥௢௔ௗ ൌ ݉݃ •‹ሺߠሻ.
݊ Number of states of the vehicle
Since there is a direct relationship between load on a tyre,
‫ݍ‬ Number of control inputs deflection and the hysteresis loss, the vehicle weight is equal
to the load on all the wheels. So, the rolling resistance, ܴ௫ ,
may be expressed as function of the non-dimensional rolling
B. Vehicle platooning
coefficient,ܽ, and of the speed of the vehicle.
It is assumed that the platoon is composed by M vehicles
where the lead vehicle is number 1. Each vehicle has to − ܴ௫  ൌ  ሺܽ ൅ ܾܸ௫ ሻ݉
maintain a safe distance of ‫ ܮ‬meters from the front car and a where ܸ௫ is the longitudinal vehicle speed.
distance of ݅‫ ܮ‬meters to the leader, where ݅ is the vehicle’s
number, to ensure noise resistance. A vehicular platoon Vehicle performance computations are usually conducted
scheme is shown in figure 1. at the full throttle condition with high and fairly constant
torque level throughout the lower vehicle speed range when
the rolling resistance is significant. It is assumed to consider
the air resistance due to aerodynamics drag when the vehicle
is moving. So, the force required to overcome drag is
computed as
ଵ
− ‫ܨ‬௔௘௥௢ ൌ ߩ‫ܥ‬ௗ ‫ܸܣ‬
ଶ

where
− ‫ܥ‬ௗ is aerodynamic drag coefficient
௄௚
Fig. 1: Vehicle platoons of M vehicles in a string-like formation − ߩ is the air density [ ͳǤʹ͵ ]
௠య

Each vehicle has a position ‫ ݔ‬and a speed ‫ݔ‬ሶ as state − ܸ is the vehicle speed relative to the wind
variables. The vehicles states are supposed to be measured
with negligible error by each vehicle while the leader compute − A is the frontal area of the vehicle
the optimal controls for the whole platoon to keep the desired So, eq.1 may be rewritten as
speed, position and inter-vehicular distance. So, it is supposed
to have a star multicast topology communication. ܶ௡ ͳ (2)
݉‫ݔ‬ሷ ൌ ߬ െ ߩ‫ܥ‬ௗ஺ ‫ݔ‬ሶ ଶ െ ሺܽ െ ܾ‫ݔ‬ሶ ሻ݉
‫ݎ‬௪ ʹ
C. Longitudinal Vehicle Platoon Model െ ݉݃‫݊݅ݏ‬ሺߠሻ
The longitudinal model takes into account the forces
where
involved during the acceleration and the brake. In particular,
the tractive force, or torque, to move the car forward or − ‫ܥ‬ௗ஺ ൌ ‫ܥ‬ௗ ‫ܣ כ‬

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 SoSE 2020 • IEEE 15th International Conference of System of Systems Engineering • June 2-4, 2020 Budapest, Hungary

Equation (2) can be rewritten as a system of equations ெିଵ

ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ାଵሻ
and the corresponding state vector is ܺ ൌ ሾ‫ݔ ݔ‬ሶ ሿ் . ‫ܬ‬௟௢௡௚ ൌ ෍ ‫ݍ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
௜ୀଵ
Given the equilibrium point ܲ௘ೖ ሺ‫ݔ‬௘ೖ ǡ ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௘ೖ ሻ , assessed at ሺଵሻ ሺ௜ሻ
൅ ߱௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ݔ‬ே െ ݅‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
position and speed at the previous time instant, computing the
ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ ଶ
proper Jacobians and evaluating them at ܲ௘ೖ , it is possible to ൅ ‫݌‬௜ ൫‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ݎ‬ே ൯
ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ
yield the following linearized system at discrete time. ൅ ‫ݒ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ሶ ே െ ‫ݎ‬ሶே ሻଶ (7)
ேିଵ ெିଵ
ͳ ܶ௦
‫ݔ‬௞ାଵ ‫ݔ‬௞ ൅ ෍ ෍ ‫ݍ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݔ‬௞
ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ାଵሻ
െ ‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
ቂ‫ݔ‬ሶ ቃ ൌ ൥ ܶ௦ ߩ‫ܥ‬ௗ஺ ൩ ቂ‫ݔ‬ሶ ቃ
௞ାଵ Ͳ ͳ െ ܶ௦ ܾ െ ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௘ೖ ௞ ௞ୀ଴ ௜ୀଵ
݉ ሺଵሻ ሺ௜ሻ
Ͳ ൅ ߱௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ݅‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ
൅ ൥ܶ௦ ܶ௡ ൩߬௞ (3) ൅ ‫݌‬௜ ൫‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݎ‬௞ ൯
݉‫ݎ‬௪ ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻଶ
൅ ‫ݒ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ െ ‫ݎ‬ሶ௞ ሻଶ ൅ܿ௜ ȟ߬௞
Let’s The third and fourth terms are the error to the reference
ͳ ܶ௦ (4) position and speed respectively at the time interval N. Those
Ak=ቈ ்ೞ ఘ஼೏ಲ ቉ ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ ଶ
Ͳ ͳ െ ܶ௦ ܾ െ ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௘ೖ latter terms are replicated in two last addenda, ൫‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݎ‬௞ ൯
௠ ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ
and ሺ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ െ ‫ݎ‬ሶ௞ ሻଶ , for the overall time intervals. Finally, the
Ͳ (5) ሺ௜ሻଶ
term ȟ߬௞ regulates the torque applied to the wheels.
‫ ܤ‬ൌ ൥ܶ௦ ܶ௡ ൩
݉‫ݎ‬௪ The terms ‫ݍ‬௜ ,߱௜ ,‫݌‬௜ ,‫ݒ‬௜ represents weighted parameters to
The overall system is balance the objectives in the cost function. Due to the string-
like structure of the platoon, the speed and position error terms
ሺଵሻ (third/sixth, fourth/seventh) terms in (7)) related to each
‫ݔ ۍ‬௞ାଵ ‫ې‬ vehicle can be reduced to the reference position and speed of
ሺଵሻ
‫ݔ ێ‬ሶ ௞ାଵ ‫ۑ‬ the leader only. So, due to the assumption in (8), the cost
‫ ێ‬ሺଶሻ ‫ۑ‬ function in (7) can be rewritten as in (7’).
‫ݔ ێ‬௞ାଵ ‫ۑ‬ ‫ܣ‬௞
ܺ௞ାଵ ൌ ‫ ێ‬ሺଶሻ ‫ ۑ‬ൌ ቎ ‫ڰ‬ ቏ ܺ௞ ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ାଵሻ
‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ାଵ ൫‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ݅‫ܮ‬൯ ՜ Ͳ ݂‫ ݇ݎ݋‬՜ λ (8)
‫ۑ ڭ ێ‬ ‫ܣ‬௞
‫ۑ ڭ‬ (6) ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ାଵሻ
‫ ێ‬ሺಾሻ ൫‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ െ ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ ൯ ՜ Ͳ ݂‫ ݇ ݎ݋‬՜ λ
‫ ێ‬௫ೖశభ ‫ۑ‬
ሺಾሻ
‫ ۏ‬௫ሶ ౡశభ ‫ے‬ If the speed control is applied only on the leading vehicle,
ሺଵሻ all the followers have to reach the same velocity since they
‫߬ ۍ‬୩ ‫ې‬
‫ܤ‬ ‫ ێ‬ሺଶሻ ‫ۑ‬
keep constant the distance from the front and leader vehicle.
൅൥ ‫ڰ‬ ൩ ‫߬ ێ‬୩ ‫ۑ‬ For the same reason, the position error of the leader is enough
‫ۑ ڭ‬
‫ ێ ܤ‬ሺெሻ to maintain the whole platoon at the desired position.
‫߬ۏ‬୩ ‫ے‬ ெିଵ (7’)
ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ାଵሻ
‫ܬ‬௟௢௡௚ ൌ ෍ ‫ݍ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
௜ୀଵ
ሺଵሻ ሺ௜ሻ
III. LOGITUDINAL VEHICLE CONTROL ൅ ߱௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ݔ‬ே െ ݅‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
ሺଵሻ ሺଵሻ ଶ
The MPC is implemented using a receding horizon ൅ ‫݌‬௜ ൫‫ݔ‬ே െ ‫ݎ‬ே ൯
approach in order to apply the state feedback control law. The ሺଵሻ ሺଵሻ
൅ ‫ݒ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ሶ ே െ ‫ݎ‬ሶே ሻଶ
MPC control model aims at minimizing the square divergence ேିଵ ெିଵ
among the current value and the reference one for position ‫ݎ‬ ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ାଵሻ
൅ ෍ ෍ ‫ݍ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
and speed ‫ݎ‬ሶ in order to maintain the safe and even constant
௞ୀ଴ ௜ୀଵ
intra-vehicular distance in the platoon. These objective ‫ܬ‬௟௢௡௚ ሺଵሻ ሺ௜ሻ
consists of different quadratic terms which deal with ൅ ߱௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݔ‬௞ െ ݅‫ܮ‬ሻଶ
ሺଵሻ ሺଵሻ
minimizing the use of the accelerator/brake. Thus, this ൅ ‫݌‬௜ ൫‫ݔ‬௞ െ ‫ݎ‬௞ ൯
ሺଵሻ ሺଵሻ ሺ௜ሻଶ
approach implies also to decrease the fuel consumption by ൅ ‫ݒ‬௜ ሺ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ െ ‫ݎ‬ሶ௞ ሻଶ ൅ܿ௜ ȟ߬௞
optimizing the torque applied to the wheels at each time
ሺଵሻ
instant. The related cost function ‫ܬ‬௟௢௡௚ is defined as in (7). For the sake of simplicity, here in after, ‫ݎ‬ሶ௞  replaces ‫ݎ‬ሶ௞
ሺ௜ሻ ሺ௜ሻ ሺଵሻ
In eq. (7) the terms ‫ݔ‬௞ and ‫ݔ‬ሶ ௞ indicate the longitudinal and ‫ݎ‬௞ replaces ‫ݎ‬௞ .
position and the speed for the i-th vehicle at time ݇. The first
four terms are related to the last time interval of the time In the matrix form, eq. (7’) becomes (9)
horizon while the other terms apply the control on the other ͳ ் (9)
time intervals. The first and fifth addenda in (7) represent the ‫ܬ‬௟௢௡௚ ൌ ȟ߬ ‫ܪ‬ȟ߬ ൅ ሾܺ଴் ܺത ் ሿ‫ ் ܨ‬ȟ߬
ʹ
square deviation of distance among vehicles; the second and
sixth terms minimize the square error in the distance among where
the leader of the platoon the i-th vehicle for the last time ‫ܤ‬ധ ் ܳ෨‫ܣ‬Ӗ (10)
internal N. ‫ ܪ‬ൌ ‫்ܣ‬Ӗ ܳധ ‫ܣ‬Ӗ ൅ ܴധ ‫ ் ܨ‬ൌ ൤ ൨
െܶ෨ ‫ܣ‬Ӗ

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S. Graffione et al. • Model predictive control of a vehicle platoon

Where ܳധ , ‫ܥ‬Ӗ ǡ ܴധ are the weight matrices. Position reference ͳͲ

The complete formalization is omitted here for the sake of Speed reference ʹͲ݉Ȁ‫ݏ‬
brevity..
Prediction horizon ͵‫ ݏ݀݊݋ܿ݁ݏ‬ൌ ͸Ͳ ‫ݏ݈݁݌݉ܽݏ‬
According to [2], we can introduce the following
substituting of variables. Control horizon ͲǤͳ ‫ כ‬͸Ͳ ൌ ͸
‫ݑ‬௞௜ ൌ ‫ݑ‬௞ିଵ
௜
൅ ȟ‫ݑ‬௞௜ (11) Vehicles weight ݉ ൌ ʹͲͲͲ ‫݃ܭ‬
ܺ෨௞ାଵ
௜
ൌ ‫ܺܣ‬෨௞௜ ൅ ‫ݑܤ‬௞௜ ൌ ‫ܺܣ‬෨௞௜ ൅ ‫ݑܤ‬௞ିଵ
௜
൅ ‫ܤ‬ȟ‫ݑ‬௞௜ (12) Wheel radius ‫ݎ‬௪ ൌ ͲǤ͵ ݉
Thus # of tractive wheel ܶ௡ ൌ Ͷ
ܺ෨ ‫ܺ ܤ ܣ‬෨௞ ‫ܤ‬ Road pitch angle ߠ ൌ Ͳι
൤ ௞ାଵ ൨ ൌ ቂ ቃ൤ ൨ ൅ ቂ ቃ ȟܷ௞ (13)
ᇣᇤᇥ‫ݑ‬௞ ᇣͲᇧᇤᇧ‫ܫ‬ᇥ ᇣᇤᇥ
‫ݑ‬௞ିଵ ด
‫ܫ‬
஺ҧ ஻ത
Drag coefficient ‫ܥ‬ௗ஺ ൌ ͲǤ͸
௑ೖశభ ௑ೖ
ܰ
ܺ෨ ȟܷ௠௜௡ି௠௔௫ േͳͷ
ܻ ൌ ሾᇣ‫ܥ‬ᇧᇤᇧͲᇥሿ ൤ ௞ ൨ ݉
ҧ
‫ݑ‬ ௞ିଵ
஼
Sample time ܶ௦ ൌ ͲǤͲͷ‫ݏ݀݊݋ܿ݁ݏ‬
Where
Inter-vehicle distance L ʹͲ݉
ܺ෨ ଵ ‫ݑ‬ଵ ȟ‫ݑ‬ଵ
‫ ۍ‬௞ଶ ‫ې‬ ‫ ۍ‬௞ଶ ‫ې‬ ‫ ۍ‬௞ଶ ‫ې‬
෨
ܺ෨௞ ൌ ‫ܺ ێ‬௞ ‫ ۑ‬ǡ ‫ݑ‬௞ ൌ ‫ݑ ێ‬௞ ‫ ۑ‬ǡ ȟܷ௞ ൌ ‫ ێ‬ȟ‫ݑ‬௞ ‫ۑ‬ (14) In the first case study, a constant reference signal for
‫ۑ ڭ ێ‬ ‫ۑ ڭ ێ‬ ‫ۑ ڭ ێ‬
speed atͳͷ݉Ȁ‫( ݏ‬without noise) is considered. In the second
‫ܺۏ‬෨௞ெ ‫ے‬ ‫ݑۏ‬௞ெ ‫ے‬ ‫ۏ‬ȟ‫ݑ‬௞ெ ‫ے‬
test, a time varying reference speed value between ͳͲ and
At each time step, the following finite horizon optimal ͳͷ݉Ȁ‫( ݏ‬see figure 3). To both signals was added a White
control problem is solved Gaussian Noise (WGN).
‹ ‫ܬ‬ሺܺ௞ ǡ ȟܷ௞ ሻ (15)
୼௎ೖ

‫ݏ‬Ǥ ‫ݐ‬Ǥܺ௞ାଵ ൌ ‫ܣ‬ҧܺ௞ ൅ ‫ܤ‬ത ȟܷ௞ ǡ

ܻ ൌ ‫ܥ‬ҧ ܺ௞ ǡ݇ ൌ ݇ǡ ǥ ǡ ݇ ൅ ܰ
ȟܷ௠௜௡ ൑ ȟܷ ൑ ȟܷ௠௔௫ ǡ ݇ ൌ ݇ǡ ǥ ǡ ݇ ൅ ܰ௖
The last constraints ensure that the control is a upper and
lower bound for torque to be applied.
IV. CASE STUDIES
The case study refers to a platoon of four vehicles. In this
section, the data used to apply the proposed longitudinal
control model will be presented.
The control law has been applied to two different sets of
position and speed reference values; in detail, a constant and
time varying speed reference values have been considered.
Fig. 3: Time varying speed refence without noise
Table I contains values for weights, control, and vehicles
parameters. The initial states of the four vehicles are
ͶͲ ͵ͷ ʹͲ Ͳ
TABLE I. CASE STUDY PARAMETERS
ܺଵ ൌ ቂ ቃǡܺ ଶ ൌ ቂ ቃǡܺ ଷ ൌ ቂ ቃǡܺ ସ ൌ ቂ ቃ
ͳͲ ͳͲ ͷ ͷ
vehicles 1-2 ‫ݍ‬෤ଵ ൌ ͷͲ
The position reference moves at the same speed of the
Inter vehicular

vehicle 2-3 ‫ݍ‬෤ଶ ൌ ͷͲ speed reference, but with an offset of ʹͲ݉.

distance

vehicle 3-4 ‫ݍ‬෤ଷ ൌ ͷͲ V. RESULT

vehicle 1-3 ‫ݍ‬෤ସ ൌ ͳͲ In this section, the results of the control law applied to the
two test cases with a prediction horizon of 3 seconds are
vehicle 1-4 ‫ݍ‬෤ହ ൌ ͳͲ described and shown.
vehicle 1 ‫ݎ‬ǁଵ ൌ ͳ A. Constant reference speed
Control weight

vehicle 2 ‫ݎ‬ǁଶ ൌ ͳ By the graphs, it may be noticed that the main goal to keep
the imposed safety distance is satisfied, even with higher or
vehicle 3 ‫ݎ‬ǁଷ ൌ ͳ lower weights on the speed and position control within the
first 10 seconds. The divergence in respect to the speed
vehicle 4 ‫ݎ‬ǁସ ൌ ͳ
reference is slower but without affecting the state behaviour
of the platoon. An accurate tuning of the weight parameters

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 SoSE 2020 • IEEE 15th International Conference of System of Systems Engineering • June 2-4, 2020 Budapest, Hungary

will avoid significant disturbance which could compromise

the safety of the platoon, maintaining the distance ‫ ܮ‬between
the vehicles.

Fig. 7: Applied control with constant reference

Fig. 4: Vehicles position with constant reference

B. Time varying reference speed
The same conclusion may be obtained also applying the
Since the control has to minimize both the speed and the varying speed reference.
longitudinal position error, it produces an oscillatory The control needs some more time to reach the desired
behaviour. The error in the position requires to accelerate the position and speed.
vehicle movements, and it is reflected in an higher error with
respect to the speed reference due to the need to apply an
opposite control. At the beginning of the time horizon, the
speed of the leader is higher to reach the desired position (that
is 20 meters ahead) while the third and fourth vehicles need
to accelerate to reach the second vehicle and to maintain the
string like formation.

Fig. 8: Vehicles position with varying reference

Fig. 5: Vehicles speed with constant reference

Fig. 9: Vehicles speed with speed varying reference.

Fig. 6: Inter-vehicle distances and distance from leader with constant

reference

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S. Graffione et al. • Model predictive control of a vehicle platoon
Fig. 10: Inter-vehicles distances and distance from leader with varying
reference
Fig. 11: Applied control with varying reference
From the previous graphs, it is evident that, a fast
convergence has been guaranteed by the proposed MPC
approach: the vehicles of the platoon, in less than 20 seconds,
reach the desired inter vehicular distance and speed also
according to a varying speed reference.
VI. CONCLUSION
The objective of this paper was to present a MPC longitudinal
controller for a vehicle platoon. A traction model of the
vehicle is introduced taking into account wheel torques,
aerodynamic drag forces and rolling resistances. The
proposed control law estimates and regulates the position and
the speed of the vehicles, which the platoon consists of in
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order to maintain a constant inter-vehicular distance. The
proposed controller is attractive due to its capability to
minimize the torque application by acceleration or
deceleration taking into account also road pitch angle.
By two different simulation tests, the controller's
demonstrated good performances to manage the string like
formation. If the reference speed value is time varying, the
proposed approach reaches the stability in more time in
respect to a constant reference one.
Future research should be dedicated to introduce also a
combined lateral and longitudinal control model in order to
evaluate the overall tracking performances.
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