A cloud-based eco-driving solution for autonomous hybrid electric bus rapid transit in cooperative vehicle-infrastructure systems: A dynamic programming approach

Efficient public transportation has always intrigued extensive research. Aiming to improve the commuting efficiency and fuel economy of the autonomous hybrid electric buses in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), a cloud-based eco-driving solution adopting dynamic programming and model predictive control is proposed in this paper. This solution contains an upper-level cloud-based scheduling strategy and a lower-level onboard predictive energy management, which is conceived to function in a Cyber-physical system of the cooperative vehicle-infrastructure system. The scheduling model carefully considered coupled spatiotemporal constraints for the driving of autonomous BRT buses, including traffic lights, traffic regulations, stations, and ride comfort. The onboard energy management leverages the pre-planned scheduling information to achieve near-optimal fuel economy. The eco-driving solution is examined in three scenarios with intersections, stations, and ramps. Simulation results show that the proposed method can deal with different spatiotemporal limits along the route, with virtually no non-essential stops and sudden acceleration or braking, and achieves 97%–98% energy-saving potential compared with the baseline performance.