Summary
This work investigates platooning systems employing Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) strategies, with the main focus being on controller parameter design for string stability under communication delays. ACC relies on onboard sensors, while CACC augments this capability with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication and both systems are used to synchronize vehicle speeds and maintain precise inter-vehicular spacing in platoons. Our goal is to find conditions on the controller’s proportional and derivative gains to balance individual vehicle stability and string stability. The latter is crucial to ensure that spacing errors do not amplify as vehicles traverse the platoon, a fundamental requirement for safe and efficient platooning. We provide a method for characterizing controller gains for string and individual stability based on the well-known $D$-decomposition in the time-delay systems literature. Numerical simulations validate the theoretical results.
