Edge-Based Control of Multi-Platoons

Vehicle platooning is expected to significantly increase road utilization while reducing transport cost and driver fatigue. Of course, the larger the platoon size the higher the efficiency. However, long platoons generate challenging road conditions when, for instance, platoons must allow for cross traffic at intersections, roundabouts and highway junctions. In this paper, we study the performance of platoons that split and merge in response to the traffic and road context. We propose PLATO, an edge-based control system to efficiently manage the resulting set of coordinated sub-platoons, which acts as a platoon of platoons, i.e., a multi-platoon. We analyze costs and benefits of a multi-platoon by means of analysis and realistic simulations. We show that what is most critical for good performance is the coherence of the instructions received by individual platoons, and the optimal adaptation of the number of sub-platoons in response to the changing road and traffic conditions.