Vehicle control schemes for autonomous vehicle system

A transportation system comprising a plurality of vehicles configured to autonomously navigate along a roadway by following moving position-targets defined for the roadway, comprising:

• a vehicle presence detector configured to detect a presence or absence of a vehicle at a position upstream of a merge area of the roadway, wherein an absence of a vehicle at the position for a predetermined time indicates an available vehicle position along the roadway;
• and
• a vehicle comprising:
• a drive system configured to propel the vehicle;
• a steering system configured to steer the vehicle;
• and
• a vehicle controller configured to:
• receive, from the vehicle presence detector, information indicating the available vehicle position;
• in response to receiving the information indicating the available vehicle position, select a tracking function, from a plurality of candidate tracking functions, that is associated with the available vehicle position;
• cause the drive system and the steering system to merge the vehicle onto the roadway at the available vehicle position;
• and
• cause the drive system and the steering system to navigate the vehicle along the roadway in accordance with the selected tracking function.

A transportation system comprising a plurality of vehicles configured to autonomously navigate along a roadway having a first segment associated with a first vehicle control scheme and a second segment associated with a second vehicle control scheme, comprising:

• a vehicle comprising:
• a drive system configured to propel the vehicle;
• a steering system configured to steer the vehicle;
• and
• a vehicle controller configured to:
• detect a transition from a first segment of a roadway to a second segment of the roadway, the first segment of the roadway associated with a platooning scheme, and the second segment of the roadway associated with a moving position-target vehicle control scheme;
• determine a time at which the vehicle will enter the second segment of the roadway from the first segment of the roadway;
• select a tracking function, from a plurality of candidate tracking functions, that is associated with:
• the time at which the vehicle will enter the second segment of the roadway;
• and
• a location of a beginning of the second segment of the roadway;
• and
• cause the drive system and the steering system to navigate the vehicle along the second segment of the roadway in accordance with the selected tracking function.