Data generation for connected and automated vehicle tests using deep learning models

For the simulation-based test and evaluation of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), the trajectory of the background vehicle has a direct effect on the performance of CAVs and experiment outcomes. The collected real trajectory data are limited by the sample size and diversity, and may exclude critical attribute combinations that are of vital importance for CAVs’ tests. Consequently, it is indispensable to increase the richness of accessible trajectory data. In this study, we developed the Wasserstein generative adversarial network with gradient penalty (WGAN-GP) and a hybrid model of variational autoencoder and generative adversarial network (VAE-GAN) for trajectory data generation. These models are capable of learning a compressed representation of the observed data space, and generating data by sampling in the latent space and then mapping back to the original space. The real data and the generated data are applied in the car-following model of CAVs with cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) to evaluate safety performance using the time-to-collision (TTC) index. The results indicate that the generated data of the two generative models have reasonable differences while maintaining a certain similarity with the real samples. When real and generated trajectory data are applied to the car-following model of CAVs, the generated trajectory data increases the number of new critical fragments whose TTC is smaller than the threshold. The WGAN-GP model performs better than the VAE-GAN model according to the ratio of critical fragments. Findings of this study provide useful insights for CAVs’ tests and safety performance improvement. © 2023 Elsevier Ltd.