Collision-avoiding decentralized control for vehicle platoons: A mechanical perspective

A new bidirectional decentralized control algorithm for vehicle platoons is proposed, which guarantees absence of collisions between the vehicles. The algorithm exploits an elegant parallel between vehicles platoon and chains of interconnected mass-spring-damper systems and the idea of barrier certificates. Stability and robustness properties of the algorithm are examined. The results are illustrated by numerical examples, simulating different driving scenarios.