Parametric-based path generation for automated vehicles at roundabouts

Abstract

Urban environments are becoming more and more complex because several factors as consecutive cross- roads or lanes changes. These scenarios demand specific infrastructures—i.e. roundabouts, for improving traffic flow compared with traditional intersections. A roundabout removes timeouts associated with traf- fic lights at crossroads and trajectory conflicts among drivers. However, it is a challenging scenario for both humans and automated vehicles. This work presents a path planning method for automated vehi- cle driving at roundabouts. The proposed system achieves a G 1 continuous path, minimizing curvature steps to increase smoothness, dividing the driving process in three stages: entrance maneuver, driving within the roundabout and exit maneuver. Parametric equations are generated to deal with automated roundabout driving. This approach allows a real time planning considering two-lane roundabouts, taking different exits. Tests in simulated environments and on our prototype platform—Cybercar—validate the system on real urban environments, showing the proper behavior of the system.