PMCD: Platoon ‐ Merging approach for cooperative driving

Platoon based communication in vehicular ad‐hoc networks (VANET) requires high co‐operation among platoon members to perform basic platoon maneuvers such as merging, splitting, and lane change. Accomplishing the platoon‐merge maneuver is still challenging due to the presence of strong interference caused by an unintended vehicle entering the middle of the platoon resulting in aborting the platoon‐merge maneuver without desired joining the vehicle. Previous researchers have analyzed the effect of interference in the platoon‐merge maneuver, but they did not provide a solution to accomplish the platoon merge arising from an unintended vehicle interferes in the middle of a platoon. We proposed an algorithm called platoon‐merging for cooperative driving (PMCD), which ensures effective platoon‐merge in all possible scenarios in VANET environment. Simulations were conducted using ns‐3 and simulation of urban mobility (SUMO) simulators. The results showed that PMCD provides the best performance at all vehicle densities and simulation times.