Decentralized Optimal Path Planning and Coordination for Connected and Automated Vehicles at Signalized-Free Intersections

In earlier work, a decentralized optimal control framework was established for coordinating online connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) at urban intersections. The policy designating the sequence that each CAV crosses the intersection, however, was based on a first-in-first-out queue, imposing limitations on the optimal solution. Moreover, no lane changing, or left and right turns were considered. In this paper, we formulate an upper level optimization problem, the solution of which yields for each CAV the optimal sequence and lane to cross the intersection, and provide the conditions under which an optimal solution always exists. The effectiveness of the solution is illustrated through simulation.