Road Scholars

Rutgers University–Camden Chancellor Antonio D. Tillis applauded Rutgers–Camden’s researchers for their collaborative work on the CIRCLES Consortium. “Their research on autonomous innovation is emblematic of Rutgers–Camden’s mission to partner on initiatives that have a meaningful, real-world impact,” Tillis said. “Their work will ultimately benefit generations to come.”

Piccoli explained that, by trying to influence traffic using a small number of autonomous vehicles, you can smooth “stop-and-go waves” – cycles of accelerating and braking due to intersections or other irregularities – and improve the energy footprint. “These waves cause a lot of problems, including increased fuel consumption and decreased safety,” Piccoli said. “Removing those waves will improve driver experiences and save you a lot of money.”

According to the Rutgers–Camden researcher and his colleagues, even just one vehicle equipped with adaptive cruise control (ACC)—which has the ability to speed up and slow down a vehicle while maintaining a safe distance relative to the vehicle in front of it—could change the driving behavior of up to 20 surrounding cars. This in turn causes a positive ripple effect in day-to-day traffic. Piccoli further noted that if the ACC control affected fuel consumption of each vehicle by even a small percentage, it could make a major difference. “Imagine what the impact would be of reducing the energy of each vehicle by 10 percent multiplied by the entire fleet traveling on I-24,” Piccoli said. “You can imagine the numbers are very big.”

Sean McQuade, a 2019 Ph.D. graduate, and current postdoc of Rutgers–Camden’s Computational and Integrative Biology program, led the Scenarios team, which made key decisions on the experimental setup. This included deciding how often the team put cars on the road, where they entered the roadway, which lanes the cars should drive in, and when the drivers could take breaks. They also planned how the cars would approach the main testbed of highway I-24 in order to maximize the probability that the project goals would be met in live traffic. “This project is challenging because I'm used to solving problems with more constraints and less variability,” McQuade said.

McQuade further noted that years of planning went into the test. However, upon arriving in Nashville and driving the route himself, the team had to make a few changes. This included using a newly constructed intersection – a “diverging diamond on/off ramp” that reduced congestion for cars entering and exiting the highway.

On a personal level, McQuade said, participating in the CIRCLES project allowed him to develop his abilities to solve different types of problems and to manage a team, especially one representing a wide range of disciplines. Just as importantly, he discovered that intensive research could be collaborative and enjoyable. “I am so impressed at the CIRCLES Consortium's ability to work together and have fun while doing it,” McQuade said.

The CIRCLES Consortium research is supported by the National Science Foundation, as well as by the U.S. Departments of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Support was also provided by Nissan North America, Toyota North America, and General Motors. In addition to their findings, Benedetto hopes that the OEMS involved in the project will be interested in exploring how their control algorithm can be introduced as a feature in future production. “Perhaps the project will also fuel more interest in partnerships that will bring additional traffic experiments and researchers to the Northeast region,” Piccoli said.