Efficiency-based speed control with traffic-compatible speed offsets

A method of controlling a speed setpoint of a speed control for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• retrieving a control policy which represents an optimized value function for reducing a cost function of operating the vehicle;
• executing the control policy to identify offsets to the speed setpoint in the speed control;
• estimating a traffic density in a vicinity of the vehicle;
• reducing the identified offsets in proportion to the traffic density to generate adjusted offsets;
• and
• applying the adjusted offsets to the speed setpoint.

Apparatus comprising:

• a vehicle speed control following a speed setpoint;
• a traffic density estimator determining a traffic density;
• and
• an optimizer for executing a control policy to periodically generate speed adjustments to the speed setpoint to optimize vehicle operation, wherein the optimizer reduces the speed adjustments in proportion to the determined traffic density to avoid interfering with other vehicles, and wherein speed adjustments are unreduced when traffic density is below a light traffic threshold.