Semi-Autonomous Driving Control of Multi-Trailer Articulated Heavy Vehicles for Increasing Highway Traffic Safety

为了提高多拖车铰接式重型车辆（MTAHV）的安全性，人们已经注意到探索主动车辆安全系统（AVSS），例如防抱死制动系统。这些AVSS技术被归类为“反应式安全系统”，旨在对当前车辆状态做出反应。这些系统是有效的，但不考虑驾驶员错误的影响。交通事故的主要原因与人为错误有关。解决这个问题的一个方法是自动驾驶，它将人为因素从控制回路中去除。这将是一个很长的过渡期，在此期间，大多数车辆都具有一定的自动驾驶能力。自20世纪90年代末以来，车道偏离警告和自适应巡航控制系统已经被提出。这些技术被归类为“预测安全系统”（PSS），不仅考虑到当前的车辆状态，而且还考虑到预测的车辆状态和环境危害。这些系统帮助驾驶员识别、评估和避免即将发生的危险。对于乘用车，已经调查了几种PSS。这些PSS具有半自动驾驶功能。在高速公路运营中，MTAHV的风险比乘用汽车高7.5倍。然而，很少有人注意到探索这些PSS的MTAHV。 本研究将为多用途汽车半自动驾驶系统的设计提供一种新的方法。本文将开展以下相关的创新性研究：1）人类驾驶员行为和MTAHV动力学的建模与仿真。为了进行数值和实时模拟，两个版本的MTAHV和驱动程序模型的推导和验证。此外，一个多车道的单向公路和周围的车辆将模拟。 2)运动规划和预测威胁评估。通过仿真计算，预测了典型公路运行工况下，由驾驶员驾驶的MTAHV的运动轨迹。将确定和评价MTAHV的关键安全措施。 3）具有自动转向和制动能力的自动驾驶系统。MTAHV的自动转向和制动系统是使用非常合适的控制技术设计的。 4)探索驾驶员-自动化-环境的相互作用。设计了一种多用途无人驾驶汽车的半自动驾驶系统，该系统与驾驶员共享驾驶控制。将探讨自动化系统的各种干预法律。 5)开发设计综合框架。提出了一种基于仿真的双层设计综合框架，并对该框架进行了验证。 该研究不仅有助于提高MTAHV的安全性，还将促进对驾驶员-控制器-车辆和自动驾驶相互作用的理解和科学。

To increase the safety of multi-trailer articulated heavy vehicles (MTAHVs), attention has been paid to exploring active vehicle safety systems (AVSSs), e.g. anti-lock braking systems. These AVSS technologies are classified as `reactive safety systems', designed to react to the current vehicle state. These systems are effective, but do not consider the effect of driver errors. The main cause of traffic accidents is linked to human errors. A resolution to the problem is autonomous driving, which removes human factors from the control loop. There will be a long transition period, during which most vehicles have some capabilities of autonomous driving. Since the late 1990s, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control systems have been proposed. These technologies are classified as `predictive safety systems' (PSSs), considering not only the current vehicle state, but also the predicted vehicle state and environmental hazards. These systems assist the driver in identifying, assessing, and avoiding impending hazards. For passenger vehicles, several PSSs have been investigated. These PSSs are featured with semi-autonomous driving functions. MTAHVs represent a 7.5 times higher risk than passenger cars in highway operations. However, much less attention has been paid to exploring these PSSs for MTAHVs.     This research will develop a novel design methodology for semi-autonomous driving systems of MTAHVs. The interrelated innovative investigations will be conducted: 1)Modelling and simulation of human driver behaviors and MTAHV dynamics. To conduct numerical and real-time simulations, two versions of MTAHV and driver models are derived and validated. Moreover, a multi-lane one-direction highway and surrounding vehicles will be modelled. 2)Motion planning and predictive threat assessment. The motion trajectories of the MTAHV driven by the driver under typical highway operations are predicted using simulations. Critical safety measures of MTAHVs will be identified and evaluated. 3)An autonomous driving system with automated steering and braking capabilities. The automated steering and braking system for MTAHVs is designed using a well-suited control technique. 4)Exploring the interactions of driver-automation-environment. A semi-autonomous driving system for MTAHVs is designed with the shared driving control between the driver and the proposed automated driving system. Various intervention laws for the automated system will be explored. 5)Developing a design synthesis framework. A simulation-based bi-level design synthesis framework is proposed and tested for designing MTAHVs with the semi-autonomous driving.     The research will not only contribute to increasing the safety of MTAHVs, but also advancing the understanding and science of the interactions of driver-controller-vehicle and autonomous driving.