Current research on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) for automated on-ramp merging neglects vehicle powertrain and dynamics. This work considers automated on-ramp merging for a power-split Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), the 2015 Toyota Prius Plug-In, using DRL. The on-ramp merging control and the PHEV energy management are co-optimized such that the DRL policy directly outputs the power split between the engine and the electric motor. The testing results show that DRL can be successfully used for co-optimization, leading to collision-free on-ramp merging. When compared with sequential approaches wherein the upper-level on-ramp merging control and the lower-level PHEV energy management are performed independently and in sequence, we found that co-optimization results in economic but jerky on-ramp merging while sequential approaches may result in collisions due to neglecting powertrain power limit constraints in designing the upper-level on-ramp merging controller.
@article{arxiv.2203.03113,
title = {Co-Optimization of On-Ramp Merging and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Power Split Using Deep Reinforcement Learning},
author = {Yuan Lin and John McPhee and Nasser L. Azad},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.03113},
year = {2022}
}