MPC-based speed tracking for automated urban buses performing V2I communications with traffic lights

Research on Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is continuously achieving a great degree of maturity for Cooperative and Connected Automated Mobility (CCAM) technology in vehicles. It includes embedded functionalities and the interaction with the environment. Therefore, this interaction should include the traffic lights information. It is a key element for the future implementation of CCAM in urban and interurban scenarios. In this paper, a Model Predictive Control (MPC) approach for an optimal speed behavior of an automated urban bus is presented. The traffic light information through V2I communication is used to achieve safe and comfortable behavior in the real condition demonstrator using thresholds for driving constraints in the MPC controller. Results show a good performance of our approach, validated in the city of Malaga during one month of testing a twelve-meter bus, connected with the infrastructure, in the framework of the CCAM Projects.