A Cellular Automaton Model Considering the Exclusive Lanes of Autonomous Vehicles on Expressway

The intelligent of autonomous vehicle (AV) is not enough to deal with complex road conditions. However, the application of exclusive lanes bypasses the long wait for technology to mature. Prior to the maturity of intelligent transport systems (ITS), it’s a feasible solution in terms of technology and cost to set up exclusive lanes. In this way, AVs will form an efficient and energy-saving autonomous “fleet.” An improved cellular automata (CA) model is used to study the effect of setting up exclusive lanes for AVs on traffic flow and stability on expressway. A multi-lane highway equipped with intelligent sensors and road signs is set up and three planning methods are designed according to the development degree of AVs. This paper changes the proportions of AVs and compare road capacity to verify that setting up exclusive lanes for autonomous driving will greatly improve the traffic condition of the expressway.