Systems and methods for collaboration between autonomous vehicles

A processor-implemented method for coordinating travel between multiple autonomous vehicles, the method comprising:

• sending, by a first processor in a first autonomously driven vehicle, a collaboration request to one or more autonomously driven vehicles to travel together along a roadway as a group of autonomous vehicles;
• receiving, by the first processor, an acceptance of the collaboration request to join the group of autonomous vehicles;
• calculating, by a second processor, a relative strength index for the software, controller, and hardware sensors onboard an autonomous vehicle for each vehicle in the group, wherein the second processor may or may not be in the first autonomously driven vehicle;
• assigning, by the second processor, an autonomous vehicle to function as a leader for mission planning for the group based on the relative strength index of the autonomous vehicle and an autonomous vehicle to function as a leader for formation planning and trajectory planning for the group based on the relative strength index of the autonomous vehicle, wherein the autonomous vehicle assigned as the leader for mission planning may or may not be the same autonomous vehicle assigned as the leader for formation planning and trajectory planning;
• identifying, by a third processor which is in the vehicle assigned to function as a leader for mission planning, a mission for a group and a target for optimization during the mission when agreement on the mission is reached by a plurality of the vehicles in the group;
• determining, by a fourth processor which is in the vehicle assigned to function as a leader for formation planning and trajectory planning, a formation for the group;
• generating, by the fourth processor, a trajectory for the group;
• translating, by the fourth processor, the formation and trajectory into instructions for the vehicles in the group, and
• providing, by the fourth processor, the instructions to the vehicles in the group;
• wherein the vehicles in the group are operated in accordance with the determined formation and generated trajectory.