Provided is a brake apparatus, a brake control method, and a method for determining a lock abnormality in a motor capable of reducing motor drive noise at the time of a self-diagnosis of the motor regardless of a condition. A brake control method includes issuing a drive instruction to repeat ON/OFF driving a plurality of times and drive a motor in such a manner that a rotational frequency of the motor during an OFF time period does not fall to zero and a peak of the rotational frequency of the motor during an ON time period increases as the ON/OFF driving is repeated, carrying out terminal voltage detection to detect a terminal voltage of the motor at the time of the ON/OFF driving carried out by the issuing of the drive instruction, and determining a lock abnormality in the motor to determine whether there is the lock abnormality in the motor based on a characteristic of the terminal voltage during the OFF time period of the ON/OFF driving that is detected by the carrying out of the terminal voltage detection.

Improved maneuverability, improved followability towards a target braking force and enhanced brake feeling when a low braking force is being effected may be achieved. A brake controller unit may include a clearance estimator which may be configured to use a rotational angle θ of a motor to estimate a clearance, inclusive of negative values, between a frictional material and a brake. A target braking force F.sub.r may be compared with a switch-determining braking force F.sub.rsw, so that clearance control based on a target clearance C.sub.r may be performed when the frictional material is in approximate-contact state corresponding to the target braking force F.sub.r being low, and so that braking force control may be performed when it is equal to or greater than the switch-determining braking force F.sub.rsw.

Improved maneuverability, improved followability towards a target braking force and enhanced brake feeling when a low braking force is being effected may be achieved. A brake controller unit may include a clearance estimator which may be configured to use a rotational angle θ of a motor to estimate a clearance, inclusive of negative values, between a frictional material and a brake. A target braking force F.sub.r may be compared with a switch-determining braking force F.sub.rsw, so that clearance control based on a target clearance C.sub.r may be performed when the frictional material is in approximate-contact state corresponding to the target braking force F.sub.r being low, and so that braking force control may be performed when it is equal to or greater than the switch-determining braking force F.sub.rsw.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a system in which the reliability of an automatic driving system can be excellently complemented by a different control system while the automatic driving system is effectively used. The vehicle control device outputs to a drive device one of a first control signal generated on the basis of automatic driving control information, and a second control signal generated on the basis of the relative information between a vehicle and a surrounding object. If an abnormality is detected in the automatic driving control information, the second control signal is output to the drive device in place of the first control signal.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a system in which the reliability of an automatic driving system can be excellently complemented by a different control system while the automatic driving system is effectively used. The vehicle control device outputs to a drive device one of a first control signal generated on the basis of automatic driving control information, and a second control signal generated on the basis of the relative information between a vehicle and a surrounding object. If an abnormality is detected in the automatic driving control information, the second control signal is output to the drive device in place of the first control signal.

Systems and processes for implementation at an autonomous-driving vehicle of transportation. exemplary processes include obtaining, by a tangible human-machine interface, an autonomous-vehicle-passenger communication, and obtaining, by a hardware-based processing unit, context data comprising learned-passenger data based on prior activity of an autonomous-vehicle-passenger. Processes also include determining, based on the autonomous-vehicle-passenger communication and the context data, at least one of (i) an appropriate autonomous-driving function, (ii) appropriate assistance to provide to the autonomous-vehicle-passenger, and (iii) appropriate information to provide to the autonomous-vehicle-passenger.

Systems and processes for implementation at an autonomous-driving vehicle of transportation. exemplary processes include obtaining, by a tangible human-machine interface, an autonomous-vehicle-passenger communication, and obtaining, by a hardware-based processing unit, context data comprising learned-passenger data based on prior activity of an autonomous-vehicle-passenger. Processes also include determining, based on the autonomous-vehicle-passenger communication and the context data, at least one of (i) an appropriate autonomous-driving function, (ii) appropriate assistance to provide to the autonomous-vehicle-passenger, and (iii) appropriate information to provide to the autonomous-vehicle-passenger.

A system and a method automatically longitudinally guide a motor vehicle. The system is used to automatically brake the motor vehicle to a standstill on the basis of a detected infrastructure component which requires a braking of the motor vehicle to a standstill. The system includes a sensor unit which is designed to detect an infrastructure component that requires a braking of the motor vehicle to a standstill, a first determining unit which is designed to determine a standstill position on the basis of currently provided information of the sensor unit upon detecting the infrastructure component, a second determining unit which is designed to determine an adapted standstill position upon no longer detecting the infrastructure component on the basis of the determined standstill position when the infrastructure component was still detected, and a control unit which is designed to automatically initiate a braking to the standstill into the determined standstill position or the determined adapted standstill position.

A system and a method automatically longitudinally guide a motor vehicle. The system is used to automatically brake the motor vehicle to a standstill on the basis of a detected infrastructure component which requires a braking of the motor vehicle to a standstill. The system includes a sensor unit which is designed to detect an infrastructure component that requires a braking of the motor vehicle to a standstill, a first determining unit which is designed to determine a standstill position on the basis of currently provided information of the sensor unit upon detecting the infrastructure component, a second determining unit which is designed to determine an adapted standstill position upon no longer detecting the infrastructure component on the basis of the determined standstill position when the infrastructure component was still detected, and a control unit which is designed to automatically initiate a braking to the standstill into the determined standstill position or the determined adapted standstill position.

The possibility of a lane change of a vehicle is determined by using a first inter-vehicle distance that serves as a target for the lane change of the vehicle on an adjacent lane adjacent to a lane on which the vehicle is traveling. When the lane change is determined not to be executable, the presence or absence of a possibility that the first inter-vehicle distance will extend to a length that allows for the lane change is determined by using a second inter-vehicle distance positioned in front of or behind the first inter-vehicle distance. When it is determined that there is the possibility, waiting is determined to be necessary, and when it is determined that there is no such possibility, the waiting is determined to be unnecessary.