Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication: A Roadside Unit for Adaptive Intersection Control of Autonomous Electric Vehicles

Recent advances in autonomous vehicle technologies and cellular network speeds motivate developments in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications. Enhanced road safety features and improved fuel efficiency are some of the motivations behind V2X for future transportation systems. Adaptive intersection control systems have considerable potential to achieve these goals by minimizing idle times and predicting short-term future traffic conditions. Integrating V2X into traffic management systems introduces the infrastructure necessary to make roads safer for all users and initiates the shift towards more intelligent and connected cities. To demonstrate our solution, we implement both a simulated and real-world representation of a 4-way intersection and crosswalk scenario with 2 self-driving electric vehicles, a roadside unit (RSU), and traffic light. Our architecture minimizes fuel consumption through intersections by reducing acceleration and braking by up to 75.35%. We implement a cost-effective solution to intelligent and connected intersection control to serve as a proof-of-concept model suitable as the basis for continued research and development. Code for this project is available at https://github.com/MMachado05/REU-2024.
Comment: Supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. 2150292 and 2150096