A vehicle control apparatus includes a circuitry capable of controlling a vehicle. The circuitry is configured to estimate a traffic risk score, a travel risk score, and a driving ability score. The circuitry is configured to change a first threshold, with which automated vehicle attitude stability control is initiated, so as to promptly execute the automated vehicle attitude stability control when a travel risk is not avoided by the driving ability, change a second threshold, with which automatic entry avoidance control is initiated, so as to promptly execute the automatic entry avoidance control when the traffic risk is not avoided by the driving ability, and control the vehicle to travel on a target travel route when the traffic risk and the travel risk are not avoided by the driving ability or when the driving ability is lower than a specified level.

Various technologies described herein pertain to controlling an autonomous vehicle to provide indicators to distinguish the autonomous vehicle from other autonomous vehicles in a fleet. The autonomous vehicle includes a vehicle propulsion system, a braking system, a notification system, and a computing system. The notification system outputs an indicator that is perceivable external to the autonomous vehicle. The computing system receives data specifying an identity of a passenger to be picked up by the autonomous vehicle. Moreover, the computing system controls at least one of the vehicle propulsion system or the braking system to stop the autonomous vehicle for passenger pickup. Further, the computing system controls the notification system to output the indicator; a characteristic of the indicator outputted by the notification system is controlled based on the identity of the passenger to be picked up and whether the autonomous vehicle is stopped for passenger pickup.

A vehicle control system includes a plurality of devices, a first device included in the devices including: a storage configured to store consistency information including a permitted combination of versions of software installed on each of one or more devices in association with each of the control functions; a determination unit configured to determine whether the consistency information consistent with versions of software installed on a part of the devices exists when consistency does not exist in the versions of all software installed on each of the devices; and a performance control unit configured to permit performance of a part of control functions associated with the consistency information consistent with the versions of software installed on the part of the devices when the consistency information consistent with the versions of software installed on the part of the devices exists.

An unauthorized activity detection method in an onboard network system. The detection method includes determining whether or not a message sent out onto the network is an attack message, saving information relating to the attack message in at least one memory in a case where the message is an attack message, identifying a communication pattern from information relating to the attack message, and determining whether or not the message matches a communication pattern. The determination of whether an attack message and determination of whether matching a communication pattern are executed on each of a plurality of messages received from the network. In the determining of whether an attack message executed on a message received after executing of determining of whether matching a communication pattern, results of the determination of whether an attack message that has already be executed are used.

An object validation system for validating perceived surrounding objects to support safety-critical threat assessment governing emergency maneuvering of an ADS on-board a vehicle. The system stores in respective sensor/modality-specific data buffers, respective sensor/modality-specific sensor data obtained at least during a predeterminable time interval continuously and/or intermittently from one or more vehicle-mounted surrounding detecting sensors. The system determines with support from a perception module configured to generate perception data based on sensor data from one or more vehicle-mounted surrounding detecting sensors, object data of a perceived object valid for the time interval. The system evaluates one or more of the respective sensor/modality-specific data buffers, separately, in view of the object data. The system also determines that the perceived object is a validated object when the object data matches sensed objects in the one or more respective sensor/modality-specific data buffers according to predeterminable matching criteria, and otherwise is an unvalidated object.

A control device, a vehicle, a vehicle combination, and a method, the control device being designed to provide a first control signal for the approach of the vehicle to a further vehicle in a first portion of a travel route of the vehicle, the control device being designed to provide a second control signal for the coupling of the vehicle to the further vehicle in the first portion of the travel route, in order to provide a passage between the vehicle and the further vehicle, via which a person may change over between the vehicle and the further vehicle.

A system for assisting in aligning a vehicle for hitching with a trailer includes a steering system that adjusts a vehicle steering angle, a braking system that adjusts a vehicle speed, an imaging system that receives image data of a drawbar assembly being receivable in a hitch receiver, and a controller. The controller is configured to detect an edge of the drawbar assembly from the image data, target an endpoint at a fixed offset from the edge and a stationary point on the vehicle, and maneuver, via the steering and braking systems, the vehicle along a path to align the endpoint with the trailer.

A system for localizing an autonomous vehicle to a target area can include a position indicator adapted for association with the vehicle in a three dimensional configuration, a detection device configured to detect the position indicator, a computation device configured to compute a position of the vehicle based on the detected position indicator and the relationship of the configuration to the vehicle orientation, a transmitter configured to receive information from the computation device and produce a signal carrying the information, a receiver configured to receive the signal from the transmitter and filter the information therefrom, and a control system configured for association with and control of one or more directional control components of the vehicle, the control being based on the information received from the receiver relating to localizing the vehicle to the target area. A method of for localizing a vehicle to a target area is also disclosed.

An agricultural work system for optimizing agricultural work flows has at least one agricultural work unit and a plurality of functional units, each having a control device for controlling the respective functional unit based on a stored set of rules. The agricultural work system has a central pattern recognition system which stores at least one agricultural work situation as a situation pattern. Work situation-specific information is transferrable to the pattern recognition system which identifies a stored work situation and the associated situation pattern based on the obtained information and transmits meta-information (M) characterizing the identified work situation to the functional units. The pattern recognition system and/or the control devices coordinate the cooperation of those functional units which work together in the identified work situation based on the meta-information so that the control devices carry out corresponding parameter adjustments of the associated functional unit.

A method for controlling an autonomous vehicle includes: determining whether an autonomous control mode of the autonomous vehicle is active; determining a steering wheel angle bias in response to determining that the autonomous control mode of the autonomous vehicle is active; and controlling, via a steering controller of the autonomous vehicle, an electronic power steering system of the autonomous vehicle using the steering wheel angle bias.