VEHICLE-FOLLOWER CONTROLS FOR SHORT HEADWAY AGT SYSTEMS - FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGNS

Vehicle following is a technique for the longitudinal control of vehicles in an automated transit system where the speed and spacing of a given vehicle are governed by the behavior of its predecessor on the guideway. Vehicle-follower control at very short headways (0.4 to 3 s) may be achieved by introducing a variable-gain capability. The approach can entail two modes of operation: velocity-command (open-loop) control and regulation (closed-loop) control. Conventional vehicle-follower design is successfully applied in the regulation mode at short headways. However, significant problems can arise when transitions are attempted from velocity-command to regulation mode because of jerk and acceleration constraints for ride-quality considerations. The report investigates the use of variable-gain techniques to resolve the transition problem.

• Corporate Authors:

  Johns Hopkins University, Laurel

  Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road
  Laurel, MD  United States  20723-6099

  Urban Mass Transportation Administration

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Chiu, H Y
  • Stupp, GBJ
  • Brown, SJJ
• Publication Date: 1976-12

Media Info

• Pagination: 109 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automated guideway transit; Automatic control; Comfort; Command guidance; Headways; Highway traffic control; Intelligent transportation systems; Jerk control; Mechanical acceleration; Operations; Passenger comfort; Systems analysis; Technology; Time
• Old TRIS Terms: Advanced systems; Jerk
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Operations and Traffic Management; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00155351
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Technical Information Service
• Report/Paper Numbers: APL/JHU-CP-051/TPR035Final Rpt, UMTA-MD-06-0018-76-4
• Contract Numbers: DOT-UT-30010
• Files: NTIS, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 19 1977 12:00AM