Development of Sustainable Traffic Control Principles for Self-Driving Vehicles: A Paradigm Shift Within the Framework of Social Justice

Developments of commercial self-driving vehicle (SDV) technology has a potential for a paradigm shift in traffic control technology. Contrary to some previous research approaches, this research argues that, as any other technology, traffic control technology for SDVs should be developed having in mind improved quality of life through a sustainable developmental approach. Consequently, this research emphasizes upon the social perspective of sustainability, considering its neglect in the conventional control principles, and the importance of behavioral considerations for accurately predicting impacts upon economic or environmental factors. The premise is that traffic control technology can affect the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in a society, and thus it requires a framework of social justice. The framework of social justice is inspired by John Rawls' Theory of Justice as fairness, and tries to protect the inviolability of each user in a system. Consequently, the control objective is the distribution of delay per individual, considering for example that the effect of delay is not the same if a person is traveling to a grocery store as opposed to traveling to a hospital. The notion of social justice is developed as a priority system, with end-user responsibility, where user is able to assign a specific Priority Level for each individual trip with SDV. Selected Priority Level is used to determine the right-of-way for each self-driving vehicle at an intersection. As a supporting mechanism to the priority system, there is a structure of non-monetary Priority Credits. Rules for using Priority Credits are determined using knowledge from social science research and through empirical evaluation using surveys, interviews, and web-based experiment. In the physical space, the intersection control principle is developed as hierarchical self-organization, utilizing communication, sensing, and in-vehicle technological capabilities. This distributed control approach should enable robustness against failure, and scalability for future expansion. The control mechanism has been modeled as an agent-based system, allowing evaluation of effects upon safety and user delay. In conclusion, by reaching across multiple disciplines, this development provides the promise and the challenge for evolving SDV control technology. Future efforts for SDV technology development should continue to rely upon transparent public involvement and understanding of human decision-making.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Department dc:contributor.department

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Mladenovic, Milos

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Abbas, Montasir M.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Zobel, Christopher W.
• Hobeika, Antoine G.
• McPherson, Tristram
• Das, Sanmay

• Traffic Control
• Autonomous Vehicle
• Connected Vehicle
• Self-driving Vehicle
• Connected Automation
• Sustainable Technology Design
• Agent-based Modeling
• Social Justice
• Web-based Experiment
• Priority Level

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:3661

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64806