Cooperative Spacing Control of Vehicle Platoon via Relative Output Feedback Considering Analog Fading Networks

Abstract

The influence of analog fading channels on platoon control performance is studied via relative output feedback. The main goal is to determine the existence of a distributed output feedback controller capable of achieving mean square stability (MSS) for the underlying vehicle platoon systems over analog fading channels. First, the conditions, closely associated with the statistical characteristics of fading channels, for achieving platoon MSS are derived for three cases: undirected information flow (UIF) topology with identical fading channels, balanced directed information flow (BDIF) topology with identical fading channels, and general information flow topology (IFT) with nonidentical fading channels, respectively. These conditions explicitly reveal how the statistical characteristics of fading channels and IFT jointly affect vehicular stability. Second, in order to mitigate the impact of fading channels on platoon MSS, some feasible dynamic observer-based controllers by using the relative output feedback, are proposed for each one of the former two situations by solving the corresponding modified Riccati inequalities (MRIs); and in the last situation, by employing edge Laplacian to model the vehicle platoon dynamics, a sufficient condition based on the solution of an LMI, and a feasible state-based controller based on the solution of an MRI, are provided. Finally, simulations are carried out to compare three distinct fading channels, namely the Nakagami channel, Rician channel, and Rayleigh channel. The outcomes substantiate the superior and effective performance of the implemented control methods in guaranteeing the platoon MSS.