GEORGIA DOT RESEARCH PROJECT 16-13 FINAL REPORT A New Vehicle Concept To Provide Better Rapid Transit At Reduced Cost (Phase 1) OFFICE OF PERFORMANCE-BASED MANAGEMENT AND RESEARCH 15 KENNEDY DRIVE FOREST PARK, GA 30297 GDOT Research Project. 16-13 Final Report A NEW VEHICLE CONCEPT TO PROVIDE BETTER RAPID TRANSIT AT REDUCED COST (PHASE 1) By Bill Diong, Ph.D.; Professor of Electrical Engineering Ying Wang, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Mechatronics Engineering Jidong Yang, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Kennesaw State University Research & Service Foundation Contract with Georgia Department of Transportation In cooperation with U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration October 2018 The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the Georgia Department of Transportation or of the Federal Highway Administration. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. TECHNICAL REPORT STANDARD TITLE PAGE 1.Report No.: 2. Government Accession No.: 3. Recipient's Catalog No.: FHWA-GA-RP-16-13 4. Title and Subtitle: 5. Report Date: A New Vehicle Concept to Provide Better Rapid October 2018 Transit at Reduced Cost (Phase 1) 6. Performing Organization Code: 7. Author(s): 8. Performing Organ. Report No.: Bill Diong, PhD; Ying Wang, PhD; and Jidong 16-13 Yang, PhD 9. Performing Organization Name and Address: 10. Work Unit No.: Kennesaw State University Research & Service Foundation 11. Contract or Grant No.: 1000 Chastain Road 0015121 Mail Drop 0111 Kennesaw, Georgia 30144-5591 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address: 13. Type of Report and Period Covered: Georgia Department of Transportation Final; June 2016–October 2018 Office of Research 14. Sponsoring Agency Code: 15 Kennedy Drive Forest Park, GA 30297-2534 15. Supplementary Notes: Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration. 16. Abstract: A bus rapid transit (BRT) system is a mass transit system that uses rubber-tired vehicles operating in dedicated guideways, high-occupancy vehicle lanes, and/or mixed traffic. These systems typically also have a limited number of stops and use signal priority queue jumper lanes in order to increase operational efficiency and reliability. However, a cost-benefit analysis of a BRT system, in its present form, is not unequivocally favorable. To tilt such analysis more in its favor, this paper describes the proposed Slim Modular Flexible Electric Bus Rapid Transit (SMFe-BRT) system concept, which improves upon the existing BRT concept in several key areas. Firstly, the SMFe-BRT vehicle will comprise a lead module, with a human driver, plus one or more physically separate follower modules that track the lead module’s movements in an autonomous fashion. Secondly, the bodies of these modules will be slimmer, which allow the vehicles to operate in narrower lanes, thereby yielding substantial cost savings in its implementation and operation. This report presents details regarding the design and prototyping of this SMFe-BRT vehicle’s key subsystems, resulting in a prototype lead module and a prototype follower module that can each travel at straight-line speeds exceeding 15 mph and cornering speeds exceeding 4 mph. In addition, this report describes the development of a leader- follower control algorithm that works properly in an indoor environment, demonstrating module straight-line tracking up to 4 mph for time intervals of several seconds long. However, the researchers encountered some challenges demonstrating proper module following in the outdoor tests. Finally, this report presents a feasibility study evaluating SMFe-BRT against the traditional BRT based on multiple criteria, including transport efficiency, environmental impacts, and finances. The study shows that the SMFe-BRT offers additional benefits in the context of both freeway and arterial operations, and is generally preferred to the traditional BRT. 17. Key Words: 18. Distribution Statement: Electric Bus; Bus Rapid Transit; Semi-Autonomous; Module following 19. Security Classification 20. Security 21. Number of Pages: 22. Price: (of this report): Classification 177 Unclassified (of this page): Unclassified Form DOT 1700.7 (8-69) TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................................................ x 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Motivation .................................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Review of State of the Art .......................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 4 2 PROCEDURE ............................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Task Set 1. Feasibility Study of the SMFe-BRT ........................................................................ 5 2.2 Task Set 2. Design an SMFe-bus to Provide Comparable Service to the Cobb County BRT Bus .................................................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Task Set 3. Develop the Hardware and Software Needed to Demonstrate the Concept of Virtual Coupling (Module-following) for Two Prototype SMFe-bus Modules ......................... 8 3 TASK SET 2: Design and Prototyping of an SMFe-bus ............................................................. 11 3.1 State-of-the-art Practices in (Hybrid) Electric Vehicle Propulsion and Steering Systems ....... 11 3.2 Vehicle and Service Specifications Proposed for Cobb County’s BRT (as example) ............. 13 3.3 Lab Prototype of SMFe-bus Vehicle ........................................................................................ 16 3.4 Design Specifications for an SMFe-bus Propulsion System that Can Provide Service Matching That Proposed for the Cobb County BRT ................................................................ 30 3.5 Impact of a Fully Electric Propulsion System on Operations and Cost ................................... 31 4 TASK SET 3: Development and Demonstration of Module-following Control ......................... 33 4.1 Review Literature and Practices ............................................................................................... 33 4.2 Develop Computer Vision Algorithms for Object Recognition ............................................... 37 4.3 Develop the Communication Software for the Low-level Vehicle Control System ................ 39 4.4 Develop Machine Learning Algorithms for Modular Tracking ............................................... 40 4.5 Field Test and Improvement .................................................................................................... 48 5 TASK SET 1: Feasibility (Cost–Benefit) Study of the SMFe-BRT Concept .............................. 53 5.1 Motivation ................................................................................................................................ 53 5.2 Objectives and Overview ......................................................................................................... 54 ii 5.3 Review of Literature ................................................................................................................ 60 5.4 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 70 6 FINDINGS/RESULTS ................................................................................................................ 85 6.1 Findings from Task 2 ............................................................................................................... 85 6.2 Findings from Task 3 ............................................................................................................... 85 6.3 Findings from Task 1 ............................................................................................................... 85 7 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................................................... 95 8 RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................. 99 9 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 101 10 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................... 109 10.1 Appendix A—Low-level Python Programs ..........................................................................