Optimal Velocity Profile Generation for Semi-Autonomous Vehicles

This work describes the optimization of velocity profiles for the usage in (semi-) autonomous driving. The focus of the optimization lies on the trade-off between time and energy optimal velocity profiles. This trade-off can be directly chosen by the driver. With help of a dynamic programming framework the global optimum of the complex optimization with nonlinear constraints based on the vehicles physical limits is found. The velocity profile generation together with an online path planner serves as an input to the vehicle's path following control, allowing for automated driving. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown via numerical simulations.