The autonomous vehicle is widely applied in various ground operations, in which motion planning and tracking control are becoming the key technologies to achieve autonomous driving. In order to further improve the performance of motion planning and tracking control, an efficient hierarchical framework containing motion planning and tracking control for the autonomous vehicles is constructed in this paper. Firstly, the problems of planning and control are modeled and formulated for the autonomous vehicle. Then, the logical structure of the hierarchical framework is described in detail, which contains several algorithmic improvements and logical associations. The global heuristic planning based artificial potential field method is developed to generate the real-time optimal motion sequence, and the prioritized Q-learning based forward predictive control method is proposed to further optimize the effectiveness of tracking control. The hierarchical framework is evaluated and validated by the numerical simulation, virtual driving environment simulation and real-world scenario. The results show that both the motion planning layer and the tracking control layer of the hierarchical framework perform better than other previous methods. Finally, the adaptability of the proposed framework is verified by applying another driving scenario. Furthermore, the hierarchical framework also has the ability for the real-time application.

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The coastal landscape of South Florida faces many challenges connected to climate change and urbanization. Sea level rise, loss of ecosystems, land subsidence, aquifer depletion are some of the issues that need serious attention. Landscape Approach Florida is showcasing results of a Landscape Architecture Design Lab where seven MSc-graduates explored the possibilities of landscape-based approaches to address the challenges from an integral and multi-scale spatial design perspective. Students employed landscape-based systemic strategies and design interventions that facilitate the ecological restoration of wetlands, provide flood protection, and increase urban resilience through green-blue infrastructures.@en