A Lyapunov Optimization-Based Approach to Autonomous Vehicle Local Path Planning

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) offer significant potential to improve safety, reduce emissions, and increase comfort, drawing substantial attention from both research and industry. A critical challenge in achieving SAE Level 5 autonomy, full automation, is path planning. Ongoing efforts in academia and industry are focused on optimizing AV path planning, reducing computational complexity, and enhancing safety. This paper presents a novel approach using Lyapunov Optimization (LO) for local path planning in AVs. The proposed LO model is benchmarked against two conventional methods: model predictive control and a sampling-based approach. Additionally, an AV prototype was developed and tested in Norman, Oklahoma, where it collected data to evaluate the performance of the three control algorithms used in this study. To minimize costs and increase real-world applicability, a vision-only solution was employed for object detection and the generation of bird's-eye-view coordinate data. Each control algorithm, i.e., Lyapunov Optimization (LO) and the two baseline methods, were independently used to generate safe and smooth paths for the AV based on the collected data. The approaches were then compared in terms of path smoothness, safety, and computation time. Notably, the proposed LO strategy demonstrated at least a 20 times reduction in computation time compared to the baseline methods.