Integrated deep learning and stochastic car-following model for traffic dynamics on multi-lane freeways

The current paper proposes a novel stochastic procedure for modelling car-following behaviours on a multi-lane motorway. We develop an integrated multi-lane stochastic continuous car-following model where a deep learning architecture is used to estimate a probability of lane-changing (LC) manoeuvres. To the best of our knowledge, this work is among the very few papers which exploit deep learning to model driving behaviour on a multi-lane road. The objective of this study is to establish a coupled stochastic continuous multi-lane car-following model using Langevin equations to cope with probabilistic characteristics of LC manoeuvres. In particular, a stochastic volatility, derived from LC manoeuvres is introduced in a multi-lane stochastic optimal velocity model (SOVM). In additions, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is applied to estimate a probability of LC manoeuvres in the integrated multi-lane car-following model. Furthermore, imaged second-based trajectories of the lane-changer and surrounding vehicles are used to identify whether LC manoeuvres occur by using the CNN. Finally, the proposed method is validated using a real-world high-resolution vehicle trajectory dataset. The results indicate that the prediction of the integrated SOVM is almost identical to the observed trajectories of the lane-changers and the following vehicles in the initial and the target lane. It has been found that the proposed multi-lane SOVM can tackle the unpredictable fluctuations in the velocity of the vehicles in the acceleration/deceleration zone.