Combined Energy-oriented Path following and Collision Avoidance approach for Autonomous Electric Vehicles via Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

This paper addresses the problem of computing an eco-driving speed profile for an autonomous electric vehicle traveling along curvy roads while ensuring path following/car following functionalities w.r.t. possible preceding vehicles ahead. To solve it, we propose a double-layer control architecture combining the classical Adaptive Cruise Control with a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control. This latter is designed so to drive the autonomous vehicle along a predefined path while guaranteeing the maintenance of a safe distance w.r.t. a predecessor vehicle ahead and ensuring energy-saving consumption. The appraised control-oriented design model is non-linear and the energy consumption one explicitly accounts for the cornering effects. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control architecture and disclose its ability in guaranteeing energy saving.