PhD defence A.K. (Anirudh) Bhoopalam

Multiple companies, research institutes, governments are working to help society smoothly transition into an autonomous vehicle future. This is hardly surprising given that autonomous vehicles have several potential benefits. They reduce human error and inconsistencies and could elevate traffic safety levels and improve traffic flow. They may offer an accessible mode of transport to groups such as the physically challenged and the aged, thereby increasing “equality in mobility”. Furthermore, they improve the productivity of commuters by giving them time to carry out additional tasks. Moreover, autonomous vehicles could change society in more fundamental ways. For example, using autonomous vehicles under a sharing model could eliminate the need for car ownership. Such a model would not only reduce the number of cars but also make more public space available in central urban areas since fewer parking spaces would be required. Before we witness such a society, there are likely to be multiple transitional steps. Freight transport or, more specifically, commercial trucking is often seen as a promising early application area since there already exist autonomous vehicle technology implementations in closed freight settings - such as warehouses and terminals. Within commercial trucking, the idea of platooning is seen as the first step in the roll-out of automated driving technology on public roads. A platoon is a set of virtually connected trucks that drive behind one another at short headways. The following trucks automatically manoeuvre based on the operations of the leading truck. The main benefits of truck platooning stem from the reduced aerodynamic drag, which leads to a lower fuel consumption and less emissions. Other benefits include a lower likelihood of head-tail collisions, better traffic flow amongst others. When the deployment of platooning technology is not widespread, some form of planning will be required to maximize platooning benefits. In this dissertation, we look at platooning from two perspectives - Planning. To establish a platoon, the departure times, travel speeds and the routes of the trucks in the platoon must be synchronized. Longer trips may allow the formation of different platoons at different stages of the trip. Multiple decisions need to be made to plan platoons such (1) which trucks platoon together, (2) where and when the trucks join/leave a platoon, (3) the route the platoon will take, and (4) in what sequence the trucks drive within the platoon. Once the platoons are planned, they will need to be driven by drivers before which they have to accept the changes platooning technology brings to their job. Therefore, we study the acceptance behavior of drivers towards platooning Behaviour. Platooning technology takes over parts of the driving task meaning drivers no longer exercise the same level of control. Drivers may have problems with losing their autonomy, trusting the technology, and concerns over it interfering with the true essence of their jobs. These could slow down the implementation of platooning and automated driving in general. Therefore, we study factors that influence driver acceptance of platooning.

The public defence will take place at the Senate Hall, 1st floor Erasmus Building, location campus Woudestein. The ceremony will begin exactly at 10.30 AM. In light of the solemn nature of the ceremony, we recommend that you do not take children under the age of 6 to the first part of the ceremony.