Fuzzy-tuned model predictive control for dynamic eco-driving on hilly roads

Existing optimal control systems for vehicles that consider the effect of road slopes use a cost function with fixed weights related to speed deviation, regardless of driving states on slopes. As a result, gravitational potential energy is not efficiently exploited and braking at down-slopes (which wastes energy) becomes unavoidable. Thus, there is still significant scope to improve fuel saving behavior on slopes. To address this opportunity, in this paper, we present a dynamic eco-driving system (EDS) for a (host) vehicle based on model predictive control (MPC) with fuzzy-tuned weights, which helps efficiently utilize the gravitational potential energy. In the proposed EDS, we formulate a nonlinear optimization problem with an appropriate prediction horizon and an objective function based on the factors affecting vehicle fuel consumption. The objective function’s weight is tuned via fuzzy inference techniques using information of the vehicle’s instantaneous velocity and the road slope angle. By considering the vehicle longitudinal dynamics, preceding vehicle’s state, and road slope information (obtained from the digital road map), the optimization generates velocity trajectories for the host vehicle that minimizes fuel consumption and CO2 emission. We also investigate the traffic flow performance of following vehicles (behind the host vehicle) in dense traffic; this was not considered in existing works on hilly roads. The effectiveness of the proposed EDS is evaluated using microscopic traffic simulations on a real road stretch in Fukuoka City, Japan, and the results demonstrate that the fuzzy-tuned MPC EDS significantly reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emission of the host vehicle compared to the traditional driving (human-based) system (TDS) for the same travel time. In dense traffic, the fuel consumption and CO2 emission of following vehicles are noticeably reduced.