A Communication-Latency-Aware Co-Simulation Platform for Safety and Comfort Evaluation of Cloud-Controlled ICVs

2025-06-09

AI Summary

Evaluating safety and ride comfort of cloud-controlled intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) under realistic vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) communication latency remains challenging. Method: This study establishes a CarMaker-VISSIM co-simulation platform, pioneering the integration of empirically measured 5G latency modeled via a Gamma distribution, and introduces an Active Conflict Module (PCM) to dynamically intensify scenario criticality. The methodology systematically isolates and quantifies the differential impacts of V2C latency on safety metrics (collision rate, post-encroachment time [PET], time-to-collision [TTC]) and comfort metrics (acceleration power spectral density, time headway). Results: PCM significantly enhances scenario stringency; latency predominantly degrades ride comfort while exerting limited impact on safety; the platform demonstrates robust evaluation capability across empirically validated datasets from both China and Hungary and under six distinct operational conditions.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Activity and Plan Recognition
• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Computer Vision: Interpretability, Explainability, and Transparency

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: User modeling and simulation for interactive and conversational systems

Abstract

Testing cloud-controlled intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) requires simulation environments that faithfully emulate both vehicle behavior and realistic communication latencies. This paper proposes a latency-aware co-simulation platform integrating CarMaker and Vissim to evaluate safety and comfort under real-world vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) latency conditions. Two communication latency models, derived from empirical 5G measurements in China and Hungary, are incorporated and statistically modeled using Gamma distributions. A proactive conflict module (PCM) is proposed to dynamically control background vehicles and generate safety-critical scenarios. The platform is validated through experiments involving an exemplary system under test (SUT) across six testing conditions combining two PCM modes (enabled/disabled) and three latency conditions (none, China, Hungary). Safety and comfort are assessed using metrics including collision rate, distance headway, post-encroachment time, and the spectral characteristics of longitudinal acceleration. Results show that the PCM effectively increases driving environment criticality, while V2C latency primarily affects ride comfort. These findings confirm the platform's effectiveness in systematically evaluating cloud-controlled ICVs under diverse testing conditions.

Problem

• Evaluating safety and comfort of cloud-controlled ICVs under real-world V2C latency
• Integrating empirical 5G latency models from China and Hungary
• Proposing a proactive conflict module for safety-critical scenario generation

Innovation

• Latency-aware co-simulation platform integrating CarMaker and Vissim
• Proactive conflict module (PCM) for safety-critical scenarios
• Empirical 5G latency models using Gamma distributions