A torque measuring device includes: a coil unit having a detection coil configured to change a voltage in response to a change in magnetic permeability of a magnetostrictive effect section of a rotating shaft; a back yoke arranged coaxially around the coil unit; a holder configured to hold the coil unit and the back yoke; and an electronic circuit including the detection coil and configured to generate an output voltage according to a voltage of the detection coil, a clearance in a radial direction is provided between an outer peripheral surface of the coil unit and an inner peripheral surface of the back yoke, and a range of change in the clearance that accompanies temperature change during use is regulated to a range in which a change in the output voltage is linear with respect to the change in the clearance.

A ball mount for measuring tongue weight of a trailer is disclosed. The ball mount can include a ball portion having a hitch ball configured to couple with a tongue of a trailer. The ball mount can also include a hitch portion for interfacing with a hitch receiver associated with a vehicle. In addition, the ball mount can include a load measurement device associated with the ball portion to determine a magnitude of a downward force on the hitch ball. The load measurement device can include a reservoir having a fluid and a piston disposed therein, and a pressure sensor in fluid communication with the reservoir. The hitch ball can be configured to exert a force on the piston, thereby affecting a pressure of the fluid in response to the downward force on the hitch ball.

Aspects of the invention relate to a method comprising: determining an output torque at a wheel of a vehicle mounted to a test apparatus comprising an external motor, the output torque being in response to a command; determining a correction factor based on the output torque and at least one coefficient associated with a reaction of a component of the vehicle and/or of the test apparatus to an applied torque at the vehicle; and controlling the external motor to apply the correction factor to the wheel of the vehicle.

Aspects of the invention relate to a method comprising: determining an output torque at a wheel of a vehicle mounted to a test apparatus comprising an external motor, the output torque being in response to a command; determining a correction factor based on the output torque and at least one coefficient associated with a reaction of a component of the vehicle and/or of the test apparatus to an applied torque at the vehicle; and controlling the external motor to apply the correction factor to the wheel of the vehicle.

A trailer hitch system may include a scale ball mount for supporting a hitch ball as part of a trailer hitch system, and for measuring the tongue weight of a trailer. The scale ball mount may comprise a trailer hitch ball mount. In an embodiment, the scale ball mount may include a biasing component disposed below a hitch ball and a gauge for displaying downward force applied at the hitch ball. The biasing component may be a urethane spring. An indicator may be disposed between the biasing component and the hitch ball, and the indicator may be viewable through an opening in the gauge.

A take-off apparatus and method for unmanned aerial vehicle without landing gear includes an unmanned aerial vehicle, a carrier, a lock/release mechanism, a lift or airspeed sensing module, a signal processing module and a release motion sensing module. The lock/release mechanism locks the unmanned aerial vehicle onto the carrier and controllably releases the unmanned aerial vehicle from the carrier. The lift or airspeed sensing module senses an overall lift or airspeed of the unmanned aerial vehicle. When the lift or speed value of the unmanned aerial vehicle is greater than a predetermined threshold, it drives the lock/release mechanism into an unlocked state so that the unmanned aerial vehicle is released from the carrier and takes off more accurately and successfully.

A bicycle crankarm the bicycle transmission side that has a main body length measured along a length from a crankset's crankarm rotation axis to a pedal axis. The crankarm has at least one stress/strain detector oriented along the length direction at a fixed distance, measured from the center of the stress/strain detector to the rotation axis of the crankarm, such that the ratio of the distance and the length is in the range between 0.45-0.65.

A vehicle system comprises a hitch mounted on a vehicle and at least one sensor in connection with the hitch. A controller is configured to identify a force applied to the hitch via the at least one sensor. In response to the force, the controller is further configured to approximate a direction of the force. Based on the direction, the controller generates instructions identifying a height adjustment of a coupler of a trailer.

A method for predicting energy consumption of a vehicle using a statistical model. The method includes (i) predicting a set of future input vectors for the vehicle at defined time intervals corresponding to a plurality of future points in time based on a subset of a plurality of reference input vectors previously generated at the defined time intervals at a plurality of previous points in time, (ii) predicting a change in the energy level of the vehicle at the future points in time using a processor and the statistical model, and (iii) providing results corresponding to the predicted change in the energy level to an output unit of the vehicle. The change in the energy level comprises a function of corresponding future input vectors and an associated weighting vector. The change in the energy level is predicted based on a regression analysis of the energy level associated with each of the reference input vectors.

A method for predicting energy consumption of a vehicle using a statistical model. The method includes (i) predicting a set of future input vectors for the vehicle at defined time intervals corresponding to a plurality of future points in time based on a subset of a plurality of reference input vectors previously generated at the defined time intervals at a plurality of previous points in time, (ii) predicting a change in the energy level of the vehicle at the future points in time using a processor and the statistical model, and (iii) providing results corresponding to the predicted change in the energy level to an output unit of the vehicle. The change in the energy level comprises a function of corresponding future input vectors and an associated weighting vector. The change in the energy level is predicted based on a regression analysis of the energy level associated with each of the reference input vectors.