One system devised at Virginia Tech is called iCACC, short for Intersection management using Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control. Another version, created by University of Texas at Austin computer science researchers, is called Autonomous Intersection Management (AIM).
Simulations run by Rakha’s research team have found that employing iCACC to direct traffic can reduce total delays at intersections by up to 90 percent and diminish fuel consumption by as much as 45 percent.
The Virginia Tech team’s latest findings on iCACC are being presented at the 92nd Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, which is wrapping up today.
In concept, iCACC would be a unit installed at intersections and roundabouts that receives location, speed and acceleration data from autonomous vehicles when they are within 600 feet of it. Analyzing the same data for other vehicles within range along with current road and weather conditions, the iCACC controller would determine the optimum strategy for getting all the vehicles through the intersection as efficiently as possible.
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