A passive infra-red pedestrian and animal detection and avoidance system and method for augmenting the operation of a vehicle on a roadway, especially for identifying potential pedestrian/vehicular and/or animal/vehicular collision danger for the vehicle in operation and adjusting the position and operation of the vehicle accordingly, includes at least one passive infra-red sensor array mounted on the vehicle in operative communication with an image processor tied into the operational system of the vehicle. The system detects, using thermal imaging and processing, the presence of people or animals that may be in or laterally crossing into the travel lane of the vehicle. The image processor analyzes the detection of a human thermal signature and/or an animal thermal signature, and determines if the detected thermal signature is moving, in what direction and at what speed, to assess any potential threat to the pedestrian, biker or occupant of the vehicle, and further whether any responsive action needs to be triggered in the vehicle's operation to avoid a collision.

Systems and methods are described for coordinating and controlling vehicles, for example heavy trucks, to follow closely to behind each other, or linking to form a platoon. In one aspect, on-board controllers in each vehicle interact with vehicle sensors to monitor and control, for example, gross vehicle weight, axle loads, and stopping distance. In some aspects, two vehicles can determine information associated with their gross weight and axle load, and apply that information to assist with determining a bounding box indicating which vehicle will take longer to stop. Based on which vehicle will take longer to stop, an order of vehicles in a potential platoon is determined.

The present invention provides a vehicle control apparatus, a vehicle control method, and an preceding vehicle following system that allow a following vehicle to run while following behind a preceding vehicle even when a constraint is imposed on the following vehicle. A vehicle control apparatus is configured to be mounted on a preceding vehicle in a preceding vehicle following system that performs follow control by non-mechanically connecting the preceding vehicle and a following vehicle. The vehicle control apparatus is configured to output an instruction for restricting a motion state of the preceding vehicle based on input information regarding a vehicle performance of the following vehicle.

The present disclosure relates to a brake system for a vehicle, having an at least partially automated control function. The brake system comprises a brake pedal to be mechanically actuated by a driver for a brake request and a hydraulic transmission system for conducting a transmission medium which transmits the actuation of the brake pedal by the driver to a wheel brake. For this purpose, the transmission system has an accumulator for the transmission medium in order to temporarily store a displaced volume of the transmission medium upon actuating the brake pedal if the at least partially automated control function is given priority.

A control unit for at least one vehicle deceleration device of a vehicle. The control unit includes an electronics unit including a memory unit in which a characteristic curve is stored which specifies a relation between a first input variable specified by an operation of a brake actuation element of the vehicle, and a setpoint variable regarding a setpoint vehicle deceleration exerted on the vehicle using the at least one vehicle deceleration device. The electronics device newly specifies at least one characteristic curve value of the characteristic curve under consideration of a second input variable specified by the driver by an operation of an accelerator of the vehicle, a current traffic and/or environment situation, and/or an ascertained position of the vehicle and a position-specific item of traffic and/or environment information, and the correspondingly modified characteristic curve is stored in the memory unit.

A vehicle group control device includes: a first vehicle-to-vehicle distance estimation unit configured to estimate a first vehicle-to-vehicle distance which is a vehicle-to-vehicle distance between the first vehicle and the second vehicle; a second vehicle-to-vehicle distance recognition unit configured to recognize a second vehicle-to-vehicle distance which is a vehicle-to-vehicle distance between a reference interruption vehicle and the first vehicle; and the number of interruption vehicles estimation unit configured to estimate the number of interruption vehicles between the first vehicle and the second vehicle based on the first vehicle-to-vehicle distance and the second vehicle-to-vehicle distance.

An apparatus for controlling an autonomous vehicle includes first and second autonomous controllers, first and second brake modules, and first and second communication networks. The first autonomous controller controls autonomous driving. The second autonomous controller controls autonomous driving in a backup situation. The first brake module receives a first deceleration command from the first autonomous controller to operate a brake. The second brake module receives a second deceleration command from the second autonomous controller to operate the brake. The first communication network allows monitoring information to be exchanged between the first and second brake modules, and transmits the first and second deceleration commands from the first and second autonomous controllers through a first gateway to the first and second brake modules. The second communication network transmits the first and second deceleration commands from the first and second autonomous controllers through a second gateway to the first and second brake modules.

A system includes a computer having a processor and a memory storing instructions executable by the processor to determine a braking distance based on a gap distance between a primary vehicle and a second vehicle in an adjacent lane, and based on a speed of the second vehicle in the adjacent lane. The instructions include instructions to actuate a braking system of the primary vehicle when the primary vehicle is the braking distance from a third vehicle in a same lane as the primary vehicle.

A safety stoppage device for an autonomous road vehicle having at least one control network and sensor, and an autonomous drive-control unit for processing sensor and communication signals and providing control signals for lateral and longitudinal control. A primary brake-control unit is configured to monitor the longitudinal control signals for faults and, upon determination of a fault, execute a longitudinal control profile, stored independent from the autonomous drive-control unit, to perform braking to a stop. A primary steering-control unit is configured to monitor the lateral control signals for faults and, upon determination of a fault, control a primary steering actuator to follow a lateral control trajectory, stored independent from the autonomous drive-control unit, and, if not already triggered, simultaneously trigger the primary brake-control unit to execute the stored longitudinal control profile to control wheel brakes to perform braking to a stop during execution of the lateral control trajectory.

A controller comprises an electronic communication line configured to receive a system brake request control signal representing a requested system brake application and an identified urgency. A hardware processor, configured to perform a predefined set of basic operations in response to receiving the system brake request control signal, is capable of: determining a maximum braking pressure to be applied during the system braking application based on the identified urgency; generating a first system brake mode control signal, based on the determined maximum braking pressure, to set an associated first valve to a first valve state; generating a second system brake mode control signal, based on the determined maximum braking pressure, to set an associated second valve to a second valve state, the maximum braking pressure during the system braking application being set by the first valve state and the second valve state; determining an activation profile for an associated modulator based on the determined maximum braking pressure; the controller transmitting, via the electronic communication line, the first system brake mode control signal, the second system brake mode control signal and modulator control signals according to the activation profile.