An Advanced Coordination Protocol for Safer and more Efficient Lane Change for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

In this paper we will explore novel ways of utilizing inter-vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communication technology to achieve a safe and efficient lane change manoeuvre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs). The need for such new protocols is due to the risk that every lane change manoeuvre brings to drivers and passengers lives in addition to its negative impact on congestion level and resulting air pollution, if not performed at the right time and using the appropriate speed. To avoid this risk, we design two new protocols, one is built upon and extends an existing protocol, and it aims to ensure safe and efficient lane change manoeuvre, while the second is an original lane change permission management solution inspired from mutual exclusion concept used in operating systems. This latter complements the former by exclusively granting lane change permissions in a way that avoids any risk of collision. Both protocols are being implemented using computer simulation and the results will be reported in a future work.