Energy optimal coordination of fully autonomous vehicles in urban intersections

This paper provides a solution to conflict resolutions between Autonomous Vehicles (AV) crossing an urban intersection. The conflict resolution problem is formulated as an optimal control problem, where the objective is to minimize the energy consumption of all the vehicles, while avoiding collisions. Since the problem has a combinatorial nature, it is tackled though a sequential mixed-integer quadratically constrained programming approach. Simulation results show that since the AVs do not need to follow specific driving rules, the intersection crossing order is chosen to optimize the overall energy consumption. The research outcome underlines the benefits of moving towards fully autonomous systems which will allow for higher traffic throughput. Furthermore, the proposed formulation is the starting point for future explorations towards real-time implementation.