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Maria Laura Delle Monache

Publications and source records attributed to Maria Laura Delle Monache.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Highway Congestion Reduction through Reinforcement Learning Based Eulerian Headway Control

Connected automated vehicles (CAVs) equipped with adaptive cruise control (ACC) create new opportunities for highway congestion mitigation. Traditional practice relies on Eulerian variable speed limits (VSL) which regulate traffic through roadside signs, but suffer from infrequent updates and limited driver compliance. Recent research explored Lagrangian strategies that directly control individual vehicles, offering high reactivity and compliance, yet in realistic multi-lane settings they depend on drivers' latent lane-change intentions, making robust vehicle-level decisions difficult. Hence, we propose an Eulerian control system optimized through reinforcement learning, that (i) leverages ACC for reactivity and compliance, and (ii) obviates dependence on latent driver intentions by regulating aggregate density near bottlenecks, crucially via headway commands rather than speed commands. We evaluate two variants of our system, time-headway and distance-headway control, in large-scale simulations across a range of traffic conditions. Both variants outperform baselines, improving traffic flow by up to 10.6% over human traffic and 6.7% over traditional VSL. To strengthen evaluation, we propose a novel boundary-aware speed metric addressing a recognized flaw in simulation studies with dynamic vehicle entry and exit. The empirical results, together with our emphasis on deployable system design, suggest a path towards practical, safe, and scalable highway congestion mitigation.

cs.MA↗
arXiv2026

Supervised and Unsupervised Neural Network Solver for First Order Hyperbolic Nonlinear PDEs

We present a neural network-based method for learning scalar hyperbolic conservation laws. Our method replaces the traditional numerical flux in finite volume schemes with a trainable neural network while preserving the conservative structure of the scheme. The model can be trained both in a supervised setting with efficiently generated synthetic data or in an unsupervised manner, leveraging the weak formulation of the partial differential equation. We provide theoretical results that our model can perform arbitrarily well, and provide associated upper bounds on neural network size. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method often outperforms efficient schemes such as Godunov's scheme, WENO, and Discontinuous Galerkin for comparable computational budgets. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our method on a traffic prediction task, leveraging field experimental highway data from the Berkeley DeepDrive drone dataset.

math.NA↗
arXiv2025

Energy Efficient Nonlinear Microscopic Dynamical Model for Autonomous and Electric Vehicles

This article proposes a nonlinear microscopic dynamical model for autonomous electric vehicles (A-EVs) that considers battery energy efficiency in the car-following dynamics. The model builds upon the Optimal Velocity Model (OVM), with the control term based on the battery dynamics to enable thermally optimal and energy-efficient driving. We rigorously prove that the proposed model achieves lower energy consumption compared to the Optimal Velocity Follow-the-Leader (OVFL) model. Through numerical simulations, we validate the analytical results on the energy efficiency. We additionally investigate the stability properties of the proposed model.

math.DS↗
arXiv2025

Dynamic Risk Assessment for Autonomous Vehicles from Spatio-Temporal Probabilistic Occupancy Heatmaps

Accurately assessing collision risk in dynamic traffic scenarios is a crucial requirement for trajectory planning in autonomous vehicles~(AVs) and enables a comprehensive safety evaluation of automated driving systems. To that end, this paper presents a novel probabilistic occupancy risk assessment~(PORA) metric. It uses spatiotemporal heatmaps as probabilistic occupancy predictions of surrounding traffic participants and estimates the risk of a collision along an AV's planned trajectory based on potential vehicle interactions. The use of probabilistic occupancy allows PORA to account for the uncertainty in future trajectories and velocities of traffic participants in the risk estimates. The risk from potential vehicle interactions is then further adjusted through a Cox model\edit{,} which considers the relative \edit{motion} between the AV and surrounding traffic participants. We demonstrate that the proposed approach enhances the accuracy of collision risk assessment in dynamic traffic scenarios, resulting in safer vehicle controllers, and provides a robust framework for real-time decision-making in autonomous driving systems. From evaluation in Monte Carlo simulations, PORA is shown to be more effective at accurately characterizing collision risk compared to other safety surrogate measures. Keywords: Dynamic Risk Assessment, Autonomous Vehicle, Probabilistic Occupancy, Driving Safety

cs.RO↗
arXiv2025

(U)NFV: Supervised and Unsupervised Neural Finite Volume Methods for Solving Hyperbolic PDEs

We introduce (U)NFV, a modular neural network architecture that generalizes classical finite volume (FV) methods for solving hyperbolic conservation laws. Hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) are challenging to solve, particularly conservation laws whose physically relevant solutions contain shocks and discontinuities. FV methods are widely used for their mathematical properties: convergence to entropy solutions, flow conservation, or total variation diminishing, but often lack accuracy and flexibility in complex settings. Neural Finite Volume addresses these limitations by learning update rules over extended spatial and temporal stencils while preserving conservation structure. It supports both supervised training on solution data (NFV) and unsupervised training via weak-form residual loss (UNFV). Applied to first-order conservation laws, (U)NFV achieves up to 10x lower error than Godunov's method, outperforms ENO/WENO, and rivals discontinuous Galerkin solvers with far less complexity. On traffic modeling problems, both from PDEs and from experimental highway data, (U)NFV captures nonlinear wave dynamics with significantly higher fidelity and scalability than traditional FV approaches.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2025

A nonlocal degenerate macroscopic model of traffic dynamics with saturated diffusion: modeling and calibration theory

In this work, we introduce a novel first-order nonlocal partial differential equation with saturated diffusion to describe the macroscopic behavior of traffic dynamics. We show how the proposed model is better in comparison with existing models in explaining the underlying driver behavior in real traffic data. In doing so, we introduce a methodology for adjusting the parameters of the proposed PDE with respect to the distribution of real datasets. In particular, we conceptually and analytically elaborate on how such calibration connects the solution of the PDE to the probability transition kernel proposed by the datasets. The performance of the model is thoroughly investigated with respect to several metrics. More precisely, we study the capability of the model in capturing the probability distribution realized by the datasets in the form of the fundamental diagram. We show that the model is capable of approximating the dynamics of the evolution of the probability distribution. To this end, we evaluate the performance of the model with regard to the congestion formation and dissipation scenarios from various datasets.

math.OC↗
arXiv2025

Second-Order Time to Collision With Non-Static Acceleration

We propose a second-order time to collision (TTC) considering non-static acceleration and turning with realistic assumptions. This is equivalent to considering that the steering wheel is held at a fixed angle with constant pressure on the gas or brake pedal and matches the well-known bicycle model. Past works that use acceleration to compute TTC consider only longitudinally aligned acceleration. We additionally develop and present the Second-Order Time-to-Collision Algorithm using Region-based search (STAR) to efficiently compute the proposed second-order TTC and overcome the current limitations of the existing built-in functions. The evaluation of the algorithm in terms of error and computation time is conducted through statistical analysis. Through numerical simulations and publicly accessible real-world trajectory datasets, we show that the proposed second-order TTC with non-static acceleration is superior at reflecting accurate collision times, especially when turning is involved.

math.OC↗
arXiv2024

Strategizing Equitable Transit Evacuations: A Data-Driven Reinforcement Learning Approach

As natural disasters become increasingly frequent, the need for efficient and equitable evacuation planning has become more critical. This paper proposes a data-driven, reinforcement learning-based framework to optimize bus-based evacuations with an emphasis on improving both efficiency and equity. We model the evacuation problem as a Markov Decision Process solved by reinforcement learning, using real-time transit data from General Transit Feed Specification and transportation networks extracted from OpenStreetMap. The reinforcement learning agent dynamically reroutes buses from their scheduled location to minimize total passengers' evacuation time while prioritizing equity-priority communities. Simulations on the San Francisco Bay Area transportation network indicate that the proposed framework achieves significant improvements in both evacuation efficiency and equitable service distribution compared to traditional rule-based and random strategies. These results highlight the potential of reinforcement learning to enhance system performance and urban resilience during emergency evacuations, offering a scalable solution for real-world applications in intelligent transportation systems.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2024

Reinforcement learning-based adaptive speed controllers in mixed autonomy condition

The integration of Automated Vehicles (AVs) into traffic flow holds the potential to significantly improve traffic congestion by enabling AVs to function as actuators within the flow. This paper introduces an adaptive speed controller tailored for scenarios of mixed autonomy, where AVs interact with human-driven vehicles. We model the traffic dynamics using a system of strongly coupled Partial and Ordinary Differential Equations (PDE-ODE), with the PDE capturing the general flow of human-driven traffic and the ODE characterizing the trajectory of the AVs. A speed policy for AVs is derived using a Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithm structured within an Actor-Critic (AC) framework. This algorithm interacts with the PDE-ODE model to optimize the AV control policy. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the controller's impact on traffic patterns, showing the potential of AVs to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2024

Reinforcement Learning Based Oscillation Dampening: Scaling up Single-Agent RL algorithms to a 100 AV highway field operational test

In this article, we explore the technical details of the reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms that were deployed in the largest field test of automated vehicles designed to smooth traffic flow in history as of 2023, uncovering the challenges and breakthroughs that come with developing RL controllers for automated vehicles. We delve into the fundamental concepts behind RL algorithms and their application in the context of self-driving cars, discussing the developmental process from simulation to deployment in detail, from designing simulators to reward function shaping. We present the results in both simulation and deployment, discussing the flow-smoothing benefits of the RL controller. From understanding the basics of Markov decision processes to exploring advanced techniques such as deep RL, our article offers a comprehensive overview and deep dive of the theoretical foundations and practical implementations driving this rapidly evolving field. We also showcase real-world case studies and alternative research projects that highlight the impact of RL controllers in revolutionizing autonomous driving. From tackling complex urban environments to dealing with unpredictable traffic scenarios, these intelligent controllers are pushing the boundaries of what automated vehicles can achieve. Furthermore, we examine the safety considerations and hardware-focused technical details surrounding deployment of RL controllers into automated vehicles. As these algorithms learn and evolve through interactions with the environment, ensuring their behavior aligns with safety standards becomes crucial. We explore the methodologies and frameworks being developed to address these challenges, emphasizing the importance of building reliable control systems for automated vehicles.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2024

Designing, simulating, and performing the 100-AV field test for the CIRCLES consortium: Methodology and Implementation of the Largest mobile traffic control experiment to date

Previous controlled experiments on single-lane ring roads have shown that a single partially autonomous vehicle (AV) can effectively mitigate traffic waves. This naturally prompts the question of how these findings can be generalized to field operational, high-density traffic conditions. To address this question, the Congestion Impacts Reduction via CAV-in-the-loop Lagrangian Energy Smoothing (CIRCLES) Consortium conducted MegaVanderTest (MVT), a live traffic control experiment involving 100 vehicles near Nashville, TN, USA. This article is a tutorial for developing analytical and simulation-based tools essential for designing and executing a live traffic control experiment like the MVT. It presents an overview of the proposed roadmap and various procedures used in designing, monitoring, and conducting the MVT, which is the largest mobile traffic control experiment at the time. The design process is aimed at evaluating the impact of the CIRCLES AVs on surrounding traffic. The article discusses the agent-based traffic simulation framework created for this evaluation. A novel methodological framework is introduced to calibrate this microsimulation, aiming to accurately capture traffic dynamics and assess the impact of adding 100 vehicles to existing traffic. The calibration model's effectiveness is verified using data from a six-mile section of Nashville's I-24 highway. The results indicate that the proposed model establishes an effective feedback loop between the optimizer and the simulator, thereby calibrating flow and speed with different spatiotemporal characteristics to minimize the error between simulated and real-world data. Finally, We simulate AVs in multiple scenarios to assess their effect on traffic congestion. This evaluation validates the AV routes, thereby contributing to the execution of a safe and successful live traffic control experiment via AVs.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2024

Mesoscale Traffic Forecasting for Real-Time Bottleneck and Shockwave Prediction

Accurate real-time traffic state forecasting plays a pivotal role in traffic control research. In particular, the CIRCLES consortium project necessitates predictive techniques to mitigate the impact of data source delays. After the success of the MegaVanderTest experiment, this paper aims at overcoming the current system limitations and develop a more suited approach to improve the real-time traffic state estimation for the next iterations of the experiment. In this paper, we introduce the SA-LSTM, a deep forecasting method integrating Self-Attention (SA) on the spatial dimension with Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) yielding state-of-the-art results in real-time mesoscale traffic forecasting. We extend this approach to multi-step forecasting with the n-step SA-LSTM, which outperforms traditional multi-step forecasting methods in the trade-off between short-term and long-term predictions, all while operating in real-time.

cs.LG↗
arXiv2024

Hierarchical Speed Planner for Automated Vehicles: A Framework for Lagrangian Variable Speed Limit in Mixed Autonomy Traffic

This paper introduces a novel control framework for Lagrangian variable speed limits in hybrid traffic flow environments utilizing automated vehicles (AVs). The framework was validated using a fleet of 100 connected automated vehicles as part of the largest coordinated open-road test designed to smooth traffic flow. The framework includes two main components: a high-level controller deployed on the server side, named Speed Planner, and low-level controllers called vehicle controllers deployed on the vehicle side. The Speed Planner designs and updates target speeds for the vehicle controllers based on real-time Traffic State Estimation (TSE) [1]. The Speed Planner comprises two modules: a TSE enhancement module and a target speed design module. The TSE enhancement module is designed to minimize the effects of inherent latency in the received traffic information and to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of the input traffic data. The target speed design module generates target speed profiles with the goal of improving traffic flow. The vehicle controllers are designed to track the target speed meanwhile responding to the surrounding situation. The numerical simulation indicates the performance of the proposed method: the bottleneck throughput has increased by 5.01%, and the speed standard deviation has been reduced by a significant 34.36%. We further showcase an operational study with a description of how the controller was implemented on a field-test with 100 AVs and its comprehensive effects on the traffic flow.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2024

Traffic Control via Connected and Automated Vehicles: An Open-Road Field Experiment with 100 CAVs

The CIRCLES project aims to reduce instabilities in traffic flow, which are naturally occurring phenomena due to human driving behavior. These "phantom jams" or "stop-and-go waves,"are a significant source of wasted energy. Toward this goal, the CIRCLES project designed a control system referred to as the MegaController by the CIRCLES team, that could be deployed in real traffic. Our field experiment leveraged a heterogeneous fleet of 100 longitudinally-controlled vehicles as Lagrangian traffic actuators, each of which ran a controller with the architecture described in this paper. The MegaController is a hierarchical control architecture, which consists of two main layers. The upper layer is called Speed Planner, and is a centralized optimal control algorithm. It assigns speed targets to the vehicles, conveyed through the LTE cellular network. The lower layer is a control layer, running on each vehicle. It performs local actuation by overriding the stock adaptive cruise controller, using the stock on-board sensors. The Speed Planner ingests live data feeds provided by third parties, as well as data from our own control vehicles, and uses both to perform the speed assignment. The architecture of the speed planner allows for modular use of standard control techniques, such as optimal control, model predictive control, kernel methods and others, including Deep RL, model predictive control and explicit controllers. Depending on the vehicle architecture, all onboard sensing data can be accessed by the local controllers, or only some. Control inputs vary across different automakers, with inputs ranging from torque or acceleration requests for some cars, and electronic selection of ACC set points in others. The proposed architecture allows for the combination of all possible settings proposed above. Most configurations were tested throughout the ramp up to the MegaVandertest.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2023

Enabling Mixed Autonomy Traffic Control

We demonstrate a new capability of automated vehicles: mixed autonomy traffic control. With this new capability, automated vehicles can shape the traffic flows composed of other non-automated vehicles, which has the promise to improve safety, efficiency, and energy outcomes in transportation systems at a societal scale. Investigating mixed autonomy mobile traffic control must be done in situ given that the complex dynamics of other drivers and their response to a team of automated vehicles cannot be effectively modeled. This capability has been blocked because there is no existing scalable and affordable platform for experimental control. This paper introduces an extensible open-source hardware and software platform, enabling a team of 100 vehicles to execute several different vehicular control algorithms as a collaborative fleet, composed of three different makes and models, which drove 22752 miles in a combined 1022 hours, over 5 days in Nashville, TN in November 2022.

cs.RO↗
arXiv2023

Traffic smoothing using explicit local controllers

The dissipation of stop-and-go waves attracted recent attention as a traffic management problem, which can be efficiently addressed by automated driving. As part of the 100 automated vehicles experiment named MegaVanderTest, feedback controls were used to induce strong dissipation via velocity smoothing. More precisely, a single vehicle driving differently in one of the four lanes of I-24 in the Nashville area was able to regularize the velocity profile by reducing oscillations in time and velocity differences among vehicles. Quantitative measures of this effect were possible due to the innovative I-24 MOTION system capable of monitoring the traffic conditions for all vehicles on the roadway. This paper presents the control design, the technological aspects involved in its deployment, and, finally, the results achieved by the experiment.

eess.SY↗
arXiv2023

Near Collision and Controllability Analysis of Nonlinear Optimal Velocity Follow-the-Leader Dynamical Model In Traffic Flow

This paper examines the optimal velocity follow-the-leader dynamics, a microscopic traffic model, and explores different aspects of the dynamical model, with particular emphasis on collision analysis. More precisely, we present a rigorous boundary-layer analysis of the model which provides a careful understanding of the behavior of the dynamics in trade-off with the singularity of the model at collision which is essential in the controllability of the system.

math.OC↗