A multi-vehicle platoon simulator

This paper presents a real-time vehicle powertrain simulator and a pseudo real-time multi-vehicle platoon simulator. The developed powertrain simulator simulates the complex vehicle powertrain dynamics, including detailed shifting transients, in the PC environment in real time. The driver input is provided using a throttle pedal interfaced using the game port. The processor requirements vary depending on the simulation options selected. In the basic version, this requirement is only approximately 20% of a 300 MHz Pentium II- based PC. For multi-vehicle platoon simulation, a network configuration is proposed. It links several individual powertrain simulations via the TCP/IP network. This network platoon simulation is also linked to a server which graphically displays the multi-vehicle platoon operation. In this network configuration, due to a random delay in data transfer the simulation time kernel is made to lag real time. However, in the platoon mode, all inputs and driving scenarios are generated before the start of simulation, and, therefore, after the initial delay, the simulation and displays stop in real time. The network simulator can be used to study the overall platoon operation and human interface issues, as well as to develop platoon controllers.