A Communication-Latency-Aware Co-Simulation Platform for Safety and Comfort Evaluation of Cloud-Controlled ICVs

TL;DR

This work presents a latency-aware co-simulation platform that fuses CarMaker vehicle dynamics with Vissim traffic and real-world V2C latency data to evaluate safety and comfort of cloud-controlled ICVs. It introduces a Proactive Conflict Module to deliberately generate safety-critical scenarios and employs Gamma-distributed latency models derived from China and Europe to reflect realistic 5G delays. The platform demonstrates that PCM exposure markedly increases safety-critical events, while V2C latency predominantly degrades ride comfort, providing a systematic framework for robust cloud-based ICV testing. The approach offers a practical tool for accelerating safety validation and stress testing under diverse latency conditions, with clear directions for future enhancements such as scenario-based testing and V2I cooperation."

Abstract

Testing cloud-controlled intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs) requires simulation environments that faithfully emulate both vehicle behavior and realistic communication latencies. This paper proposes a latency-aware co-simulation platform integrating CarMaker and Vissim to evaluate safety and comfort under real-world vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) latency conditions. Two communication latency models, derived from empirical 5G measurements in China and Hungary, are incorporated and statistically modeled using Gamma distributions. A proactive conflict module (PCM) is proposed to dynamically control background vehicles and generate safety-critical scenarios. The platform is validated through experiments involving an exemplary system under test (SUT) across six testing conditions combining two PCM modes (enabled/disabled) and three latency conditions (none, China, Hungary). Safety and comfort are assessed using metrics including collision rate, distance headway, post-encroachment time, and the spectral characteristics of longitudinal acceleration. Results show that the PCM effectively increases driving environment criticality, while V2C latency primarily affects ride comfort. These findings confirm the platform's effectiveness in systematically evaluating cloud-controlled ICVs under diverse testing conditions.

Figures (8)

• Figure 1: The architecture of the proposed co-simulation platform.
• Figure 2: Overview of the road network under test 8916839.
• Figure 3: Common network architecture in China and Europe.
• Figure 4: V2X communication solution in China use case.
• Figure 5: Measured latency and fitted distributions of China cases with 0kmh (\ref{['fig:China_Case_0']}), 20kmh (\ref{['fig:China_Case_20']}), 40kmh (\ref{['fig:China_Case_40']}) and Europe cases (\ref{['fig:Europe_Case']}).