A Practical Evaluation of the Stimuli-Induced Equilibrium Point for Assistance Ramp Merging Systems

• Published in: 2018 IEEE International Conference on Intelligence and Safety for Robotics (ISR) pp. 417 - 422
• Main Authors: Amezquita-Semprun, Kendrick, Pradeep, Yazhini C., Del Rosario, Manuel, Chen, Weihai, Zhao, Zheng, Chen, Peter C. Y.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Acceleration; Junctions; Merging; Psychology; Roads; Safety; Vehicles
• DOI: 10.1109/IISR.2018.8535947

The onset of congestion patterns occurs in on-ramp merge junctions not only because of the sheer number of vehicles on the road, but also due to the collective behavior of drivers. To alleviate such a problematic, we envision an advanced-driver assistance system (ADAS) to provide ramp drivers with timely information regarding speed and heading reference to ease the execution of the merging maneuver while optimizing the main traffic flow. The realization of such a system relies on the appropriate handling of changing traffic conditions and drivers erratic behavior. To cope with these uncertainties, the stimuli-induced equilibrium point (SIEP) has been recently introduced to compute a target position and speed taking into account the prevailing traffic conditions and merging vehicle response. In this work, we empirically validate the advantages of the methodology by implementing SIEP along with the line-of-sight (LOS) guidance approach on a lab-based automatic ramp merging system. The experimental outcome demonstrates that under SIEP, LOS is able to handle a wider range of merging scenarios with less control effort, while ensuring the safety of drivers.