This report deals with an introduction to the control aspect of platoon maneuvers in Automated Highway Systems. The different platoon maneuvers include lane changes, merge procedures and split procedures. The first part of the report consists of a review of the existing literature in this area. The survey is split up into the quasi-synchronous and vehicle follower controller methods of approach to the problem. The subsequent sections deal with the mathematical description of the problem with two representations of the system under study, varying only in level of model complexity. The simplified model has been studied with a linear based control as well as the nonlinear sliding mode approach. The results only reinforce the need for nonlinear systems analysis and control. The sliding control technique has also been applied to study the detailed version of the plant.

The first section of this report addresses the issues of vehicle control during transition maneuvers in Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems. Transition maneuvers include automatic lane change of vehicles and merging and splitting of platoons of vehicles in the automated highway system. The second part of the report addresses the issues involved in implementation of the longitudinal control laws for vehicle control in Automated Highway Systems.

This report begins with an examination of autonomous lateral vehicle control. This is followed by a section on Cooperative Intelligent Cruise Control (CICC). The effect of communication delays on the control performance of vehicle platoons is then examined. The report concludes with a study of the three basic transition maneuvers in an Automated Highway System: join, split, and lane change.