Distributed Predictive Control for Roundabout Crossing Modelled by Virtual Platooning

Roundabouts pose complex challenges for autonomous vehicles. Approaching and crossing them safely requires a significant amount of information, much of which is typically unavailable. With autonomous vehicles becoming increasingly prevalent on the roads, new approaches are necessary to address these upcoming issues. While platoons and distributed control have been extensively studied in the past decade, roundabouts have received less attention. This paper presents a distributed Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) approach using the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) to utilize virtual platooning and enhance the throughput of a roundabout without requiring approaching vehicles to come to a stop. Instead, it manages the velocity of each vehicle while maintaining a safe distance. The proposed approach is validated through two case studies.