University research shows a few self-driving cars can improve traffic flow

The presence of just a few autonomous vehicles can eliminate the stop-and-go driving of the human drivers in traffic, along with the accident risk and fuel inefficiency it causes, according to new research by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program, the research was led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers with expertise in traffic flow theory, control theory, robotics, cyber-physical systems, and transportation engine
May 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The presence of just a few autonomous vehicles can eliminate the stop-and-go driving of the human drivers in traffic, along with the accident risk and fuel inefficiency it causes, according to new research by 4963 the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.


Funded by the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical Systems program, the research was led by a multi-disciplinary team of researchers with expertise in traffic flow theory, control theory, robotics, cyber-physical systems, and transportation engineering.

The team conducted field experiments in Tucson, Arizona, in which a single autonomous vehicle circled a track continuously with at least 20 other human-driven cars. Researchers found that by controlling the pace of the autonomous car in the study, they were able to smooth out the traffic flow for all the cars. For the first time, researchers demonstrated experimentally that even a small percentage of such vehicles can have a significant impact on the road, eliminating waves and reducing the total fuel consumption by up to 40 percent. Moreover, the researchers found that conceptually simple and easy to implement control strategies can achieve the goal.

The use of autonomous vehicles to regulate traffic flow is the next innovation in the rapidly evolving science of traffic monitoring and control, Work said. Just as fixed traffic sensors have been replaced by crowd-sourced GPS data in many navigation systems, the use of self-driving cars is poised to replace classical freeway traffic control concepts like variable speed limits. Critical to the success of this innovation is a deeper understanding of the dynamic between these autonomous vehicles and the human drivers on the road.

According to Daniel B. Work, assistant professor and a lead researcher in the study, the experiments show that with as few as five per cent of vehicles being automated and carefully controlled, stop-and-go waves caused by human driving behaviour can be eliminated.

The researchers say the next step will be to study the impact of autonomous vehicles in denser traffic with more freedom granted to the human drivers, such as the ability to change lanes.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Countering falling fuel tax revenue with mileage fees
    April 20, 2016
    Eric G. O’Rear and Wallace E. Tyner look at the benefits of mileage charges and how these might be implemented. Since the early 1900s, taxes on petrol (gasoline) and diesel fuels have been used to finance the construction and maintenance of roadway infrastructure and, in some countries other government spending too. Now, a combination of improved fuel economy, the advent of hybrid and alternative fuelled vehicles and a reluctance in some countries (especially the US) to increase fuel taxes has led to a d
    Read More
  • AVs in the Netherlands? Don't forget the bikes
    June 11, 2019
    The Netherlands’ famous love of bicycles could be a problem when it comes to the deployment of autonomous vehicles there. And there might be other obstacles, finds Ben Spencer Of all the countries on the planet, the Netherlands is most ready to start deploying autonomous vehicles (AVs), according to a survey by KPMG earlier this year. On the face of it, this is good news: coming first out of 25 countries listed in the Autonomous Vehicles Readiness Index (AVRI) for the second consecutive year puts the Du
    Read More
  • Confusion over electric motors for heavy trucks
    December 19, 2016
    According to Dr Peter Harrop of research company IDTechEx, there is still no agreement on the best type of electric motor to use in heavy trucks. The company’s analysis indicates that the booming, confusing traction motor business will rise to around US$400 billion in 2027. Its new report, Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2017-2027 navigates the jargon, the design options and the disagreements. The changing needs and evolving technology are matched to create forecasts and technology timelines based
    Read More
  • Statistical improvement for short-term travel time predictions
    June 2, 2014
    Researchers at Imperial College in London have developed a generic three-stage short-term travel prediction model that promises to give greater accuracy under both normal and abnormal conditions. As travellers do not like the randomness of non-recurrent traffic congestion and delays, it is particularly useful for network managers to know how the ongoing traffic situation will develop when an atypical event occurs.
    Read More

Highlighted Content