Patent ID: 8401772

Claim:
A method for synchronizing traffic flow thereby reducing traffic congestion within a system roadway comprising a plurality of roadways, comprising: receiving a route plan request from a first vehicle under manual control, the route plan request indicating an entry point and a destination; determining a plurality of actual time slots for a first roadway adjacent to the entry point based on a vehicle size and a set speed limit, wherein the plurality of actual time slots has a flow along the first roadway based on the set speed limit; based on the flow of the plurality of actual time slots, determining that a first actual time slot of the plurality of actual time slots is projected to pass the entry point at a particular time; generating by one or more processing units one or more route plans based on the entry point and one or more exit points associated with the destination; identifying a top priority route plan of the one or more route plans, wherein the top priority route plan comprises at least the first roadway and a second roadway; identifying a plurality of route time slots along the top priority route plan; identifying a plurality of available route time slots along the top priority route plan, wherein each available route time slot is projected to be available from the entry point to at least one of the one or more exit points along the top priority route plan, wherein identifying the plurality of available route time slots comprises: identifying a merge point between the first roadway and the second roadway; projecting that at least one route time slot will be occupied by a second vehicle on the second roadway at the merge point, wherein the projecting is based at least in part on route plan information for the second vehicle; and excluding the at least one route time slot from the plurality of available route time slots; identifying a first feasible route time slot (FFRTS) that is calculated to have a lowest projected travel time from among the plurality of available route time slots, wherein the FFRTS corresponds to the first actual time slot of the plurality of actual time slots; taking automated control of the first vehicle; and launching the first vehicle into the first actual time slot on the first roadway at the particular time.