Feasible Safe Connected Cruise Control with Backstepping Control Barrier Functions

This paper proposes a safety-critical connected cruise control strategy using backstepping control barrier functions to enforce safety for connected automated vehicles while satisfying actuator limits. The proposed approach accounts for the vehicle's response time, modeled as a first-order lag. We investigate the impact of braking limits and lag time on the conservativeness of the safe region in the state space. Using simulations, we confirm that the proposed controller ensures safety while maintaining feasibility.