A vehicle with a road surface condition detector includes: a vehicle body configured to have one or more passengers; front and rear wheels configured to move the vehicle body; and a road surface condition detector configured to detect road surface conditions in front of the front and rear wheels, wherein the road surface condition detector includes front-wheel road surface condition detectors configured to detect road surface conditions in front of the front wheels and rear-wheel road surface condition detectors configured to detect road surface conditions in front of the rear wheels, and the rear-wheel road surface condition detectors detect areas located outer in a vehicle width direction than ends of detection areas detected by the front-wheel road surface condition detectors.

A vehicle with a road surface condition detector includes: a vehicle body configured to have one or more passengers; front and rear wheels configured to move the vehicle body; and a road surface condition detector configured to detect road surface conditions in front of the front and rear wheels, wherein the road surface condition detector includes front-wheel road surface condition detectors configured to detect road surface conditions in front of the front wheels and rear-wheel road surface condition detectors configured to detect road surface conditions in front of the rear wheels, and the rear-wheel road surface condition detectors detect areas located outer in a vehicle width direction than ends of detection areas detected by the front-wheel road surface condition detectors.

A preview road surface detection device of a vehicle of the present invention includes: a distance sensor that is disposed in a vehicle member and detects a distance to a measurement point on a road surface nearer to a front part of the vehicle, corresponding to at least a central portion of a contact patch to the road surface of a wheel of the vehicle; and a distance calculator that calculates a road surface distance from the vehicle member to the measurement point, based on a value detected by the distance sensor. A displacement of the road surface nearer to the front part of the vehicle is detected as a road surface condition. The displacement of the road surface is calculated from the road surface distance and a vehicle height of the vehicle member when the distance sensor detects the distance.

A vehicle includes: a vehicle body; front and rear wheels configured to move the vehicle body; and a road surface condition detector configured to detect road surface conditions in front of each of the front wheels, wherein the road surface condition detector is positioned in front of each of the front wheels, and a direction of radiating laser beams by the road surface condition detector for detecting a detection point on a road surface is inclined in a direction of a tangent to an arc, about a pitch center of the vehicle body and running through the detection point, at the detection point, when the vehicle body is viewed laterally.

The present invention relates to a method for operating a motor vehicle as a first road user on a road, comprising: obtaining information on the current and/or a possible future traffic situation on the road; determining, based on the obtained information, whether a deviation from the present travel and/or steering direction or from a navigation destination on the road is appropriate according to a predefined criterion in order to clear the way for a second road user directly or indirectly via third road users, and if yes: determining a new destination on or at the side of the road, determining whether it is necessary to drive onto an obstacle in order to reach the new destination, and if yes, checking whether an adjustment of the chassis of the motor vehicle is compatible with driving onto the obstacle, and if yes, prompting the motor vehicle to head for the new destination.

A method of optimizing a suspension system to avoid pitch resonance may include determining pitch characteristics of a vehicle for a terrain profile and speed range via a model associated with the vehicle, decoupling front and rear axles by removing pitch inertia from the model, and determining optimized damping for a main damper of a position sensitive damper over a linear range of wheel travel in a bounce control zone based on the pitch characteristics. The method may further include recoupling the front and rear axles by adding the pitch inertia back into the model, and selecting a secondary damper associated with a compression zone or a secondary damper associated with a rebound zone as a selected damper for adjustment based on which of the front and rear axles is limiting. The method may also include performing a damping adjustment to the selected damper and cyclically repeating selecting the secondary damper and performing the damping adjustment until pitch resonance is suppressed.

A method for controlling a suspension system of a vehicle, as well as suspension systems, and a vehicle including a suspension system is provided. The suspension system may include at least one adjustable damping device that is controlled via a control signal, such as from a controller of the suspension system, in order to dynamically adjust the damping characteristic of the damping device. The control signal may be generated on the basis of at least one of current driving dynamics data and optically recorded information about an area of a ground surface.

A method includes detecting whether a request to lower a vehicle is received, and when a request is received, determine potential obstructions under the undercarriage of the vehicle. The method further includes using the map and determining whether any interference with the undercarriage will occur when the vehicle is lowered and lowering the vehicle.

The present disclosure relates to autonomous driving vehicles and methods for improving stability and occupant comfort of the same. The vehicle includes: a frame member; a cabin, movable with respect to and independent from the frame member; wheels; at least one suspension between the wheels and frame member; actuation device configured to control at least the orientation of the cabin with respect to the frame member; a perception module comprising perception sensors and algorithm configured to at least identify road boundaries and obstacles in the vicinity of the vehicle; and a planning module configured to plan the motions of the steering means using information from at least the perception module.

According to certain embodiments, a device comprises a body, a mechanical propulsion system affixed to the body to cause the body to traverse a multi-oriented surface and to prevent contact between the body and the multi-oriented surface, a thrust system to apply a thrust force to the device that opposes a gravitational force acting on the device, and a payload with at least one sensor to detect a characteristics of the multi-oriented surface.