Platoon Control based on Predecessor and Delayed Leader Information via Minimized Headway Times

The platoon control problem is considered under a recently proposed leader and predecessor following scheme with a third-order vehicle dynamics. The scheme is investigated with a simple PD-type controller in the face of delayed leader information. It is shown that string stability can be achieved only when the headway parameter is chosen larger than the communication delay. The use of larger headway parameters is also shown to be necessary to avoid the amplification of the acceleration signals backward along the platoon. Guidelines are given for the choice of controller gains and the headway parameter in a way to achieve desirable platoon behavior.