Självkörande fordon
En analys av energianvändning och kapacitet
Self-driving cars are soon to become a reality to the commercial market. A self-driving car does not have a human operator, which enables some interesting characteristics. The main benefits are considered to be:The number of accidents and traffic jams should be reduced.Enhanced comfort.Energy usage could be decreased while capacity could be increased.This study concerns the causes for improved energy efficiency. The reason for improved energy efficiency is mainly because of the variation in terms of acceleration, braking and distance holding are reduced. The vehicles are more intelligent and can work together as a unity. There are reasons to believe that self-driving cars will first operate in highway conditions. The study has therefore tried to estimate what the potential benefits could be in terms of energy usage and capacity when comparing two sets of traffic flows in such an environment. One set of traffic flow was symbolized by self-driving cars, and one set was composed by conventional vehicles. With the settings and conditions defining the simulations in this study one can expect positive effects in both in energy usage and capacity with a traffic flow symbolized by self-driving cars. When comparing the two sets, with an increasing traffic flow from non-congestion up to congestion, the results showed energy savings around 10 percent with self-driving cars.