Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhao, Xiaohua, Huang, Zhaowei, Chen, Chen, Yang, Haiyi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24295
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915960822169600
author Zhao, Xiaohua
Huang, Zhaowei
Chen, Chen
Yang, Haiyi
author_facet Zhao, Xiaohua
Huang, Zhaowei
Chen, Chen
Yang, Haiyi
contents Inefficient driving behaviors, such as overly conservative yielding, remain a key obstacle to deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Instantaneous driving efficiency metrics are crucial for self-driving decision-making because they affect real-time performance evaluation and control optimization. However, commonly used indicators, including speed, relative speed, and inter-vehicle distance, are limited in capturing traffic context and in ensuring consistency between instantaneous outputs and travel-level outcomes. This study proposes the Projected Attainable Speed Space (PASS) model, a unified framework for driving efficiency assessment across instantaneous and travel-level analyses by integrating kinematic and spatial traffic information. PASS characterizes instantaneous driving efficiency with two coupled elements: potential for speed improvement (available acceleration space) and response to that potential (utilization of available acceleration space). Available acceleration space is referenced to projected attainable speed, derived from an idealized catch-up maneuver using relative speed and spacing to the leading vehicle; utilization is represented by the temporal change in available acceleration space. To ensure cross-scale consistency, time-aggregated PASS is defined as a travel-level efficiency metric. Trajectory data from a driving simulation experiment are used for parameter calibration to maximize agreement between time-aggregated PASS and observed travel times. Across 10 lane-change events, results show strong consistency, with an average coefficient of determination of 0.913, validating PASS for consistent efficiency evaluation across instantaneous and travel-level temporal scales. This study provides a unified, physically grounded framework that supports real-time decision-making and long-term performance analysis in autonomous driving.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_24295
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Projected Attainable Speed Space: A Driving Efficiency Metric Connecting Instantaneous Evaluation to Travel Time
Zhao, Xiaohua
Huang, Zhaowei
Chen, Chen
Yang, Haiyi
Robotics
Inefficient driving behaviors, such as overly conservative yielding, remain a key obstacle to deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs). Instantaneous driving efficiency metrics are crucial for self-driving decision-making because they affect real-time performance evaluation and control optimization. However, commonly used indicators, including speed, relative speed, and inter-vehicle distance, are limited in capturing traffic context and in ensuring consistency between instantaneous outputs and travel-level outcomes. This study proposes the Projected Attainable Speed Space (PASS) model, a unified framework for driving efficiency assessment across instantaneous and travel-level analyses by integrating kinematic and spatial traffic information. PASS characterizes instantaneous driving efficiency with two coupled elements: potential for speed improvement (available acceleration space) and response to that potential (utilization of available acceleration space). Available acceleration space is referenced to projected attainable speed, derived from an idealized catch-up maneuver using relative speed and spacing to the leading vehicle; utilization is represented by the temporal change in available acceleration space. To ensure cross-scale consistency, time-aggregated PASS is defined as a travel-level efficiency metric. Trajectory data from a driving simulation experiment are used for parameter calibration to maximize agreement between time-aggregated PASS and observed travel times. Across 10 lane-change events, results show strong consistency, with an average coefficient of determination of 0.913, validating PASS for consistent efficiency evaluation across instantaneous and travel-level temporal scales. This study provides a unified, physically grounded framework that supports real-time decision-making and long-term performance analysis in autonomous driving.
title Projected Attainable Speed Space: A Driving Efficiency Metric Connecting Instantaneous Evaluation to Travel Time
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.24295