Consensus-Based Cooperative Control for Connected Vehicle Platoon With Time-Varying Delays and Switching Topologies

Vehicular platoon control can effectively achieve group consensus, improve vehicular running safety, and increase road capacity. However, practical constraints arise due to the limitations of the traffic environment, including time-varying metrics such as time delays and switching topologies in wireless communication systems. In this work, a distributed consensus protocol that considers time-varying delays and random switching communication topologies is designed to stabilize the connected vehicle platoon. Then, a novel control mode is introduced, along with a platoon control algorithm for connected vehicles that integrates physical and communication constraints. Furthermore, the consensus and string stability of this strategy are meticulously analyzed using the Lyapunov-Krasovskii approach. Finally, the effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated through extensive numerical simulations, which incorporate complex leading vehicle behaviors, such as sudden deceleration and emergency stop. Our protocol exhibits advantages in terms of stability, adaptability, and effectiveness in varying communication environments compared to the other solution.