Automated lane changing is a vital component of the steering control system
for automated vehicles. The most important requirements of such maneuvers
are smoothness and robustness. Look-down sensing systems face the challenge
of having to bridge the gap whenever reference lines of the respective lan
es are not measurable. This paper discusses two methods that were successfu
lly employed in the platoon scenario of the 1997 National Automated Highway
Systems Consortium Feasibility Demonstration in San Diego, USA: infrastruc
ture-guided lane changes using an additional cross-over marker reference, a
nd free lane changes using a yaw rate sensor for dead reckoning. Both syste
ms achieved good passenger comfort and exhibited high reliability. Similar
techniques were applied to the entrance and exit ramps of the automated hig
hways. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.