  Connectivity-enabled automation of distributed control systems allow for
better anticipation of system disturbances and better prediction of the effects
of actuator limitations on individual agents when incorporating a model.
Automated convoy of heavy-duty trucks in the form of platooning is one such
application designed to maintain close gaps between trucks to exploit drafting
benefits and improve fuel economy, and has traditionally been handled with
classically-designed connected and adaptive cruise control (CACC). This paper
is motivated by demonstrated limitations of such a control strategy, in which a
classical CACC was unable to efficiently handle real-world road grade and
velocity transient disturbances without the assistance of fleet operator
intervention, and is non-adaptive to varied hardware and loading conditions of
the operating truck. This automation strategy is addressed by forming a
cooperative model predictive control (MPC) for eco-platooning that considers
interactions with trailing trucks to incentivize platoon harmonization under
road disturbances, velocity transients, and engine limitations, and further
improves energy economy by reducing unnecessary engine effort. This is
accomplished for each truck by sharing load, maximum engine power, transmission
ratios, control states, and intended trajectories with its nearest neighbors.
The performance of the considerate and cooperative strategy was demonstrated on
a real-world driving scenario against a similar non-considerate control
strategy, and overall it was found that the considerate strategy significantly
improved harmonization between the platooned trucks in a real-time
implementable manner.
