A control unit arranged to monitor a load distribution of a vehicle when the vehicle is in motion, the control unit comprising an interface arranged to receive a plurality of load values associated with one or more vehicle axles and/or one or more vehicle wheels from a plurality of load sensors arranged on the vehicle, wherein the control unit is arranged to determine a vehicle load distribution based on the plurality of load values, to compare the determined vehicle load distribution to a pre-determined allowable vehicle load distribution, and to trigger an emergency procedure in case the determined vehicle load distribution differs from the pre-determined vehicle load distribution by more than an allowable amount.

A processor unit (3) for model-based predictive control of a vehicle (1) taking into account an arrival time factor is configured to calculate a trajectory for the vehicle (1) based at least in part on at least one arrival time factor, with the trajectory including an entire route (20) to a specified destination (19) at which the vehicle (1) is to arrive, and with the at least one arrival time factor influencing an arrival time of the vehicle (1) at the specified destination (19). Additionally, the processor unit (3) is configured to optimize a section of the trajectory for the vehicle (1) for a sliding prediction horizon by executing a model-based predictive control (MPC) algorithm (13), where the MPC algorithm (13) includes a longitudinal dynamic model (14) of a drive train (7) of the vehicle (1) and a cost function (15) to be minimized.

The invention relates to an energy management system for a motor vehicle, comprising a monitoring device adapted to monitor a position and/or a movement of a driver inside the motor vehicle, a driver's intention determination device adapted to determine the intention of the driver to use predetermined energy consuming devices of the motor vehicle based on the monitored position and/or movement of the driver, and an activating/deactivating device adapted to activate, and respectively deactivate, specific energy consuming devices among the predetermined energy consuming devices of the motor vehicle based on the determined driver's intention.

A method for automatically reactivating a lane departure warning and/or lane keeping driver assistance system of a vehicle, comprising deactivating the system at a deactivation time point; identifying a first road condition which is associated with the deactivation time point when the system is being deactivated, wherein the first road condition is indicative of a driving situation when the driver wants the system to be deactivated; setting a reactivation threshold value, wherein the reactivation threshold value is set based on the identified first road condition and defines a limit for when the first road condition no longer applies; and automatically reactivating the system when it is determined that the reactivation threshold value is reached. The invention also relates to a vehicle control unit and to a vehicle.

A traffic planning method for controlling a plurality of vehicles is disclosed, wherein each vehicle occupies one node in a shared set of planning nodes and is movable to other nodes along predefined edges between pairs of the nodes in accordance with a finite set of motion commands. The method comprises: obtaining initial node occupancies of the vehicles; from said finite set of motion commands, determining a mean number of feasible motion commands in a neighborhood of the initial node occupancies; determining a search depth d which makes optimal use of a predefined computational budget; and determining a suitable sequence of motion commands by means of an optimization process which considers the search depth d.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for monitoring a dedicated roadway the runs in parallel to a railroad. In some implementations, a system includes a central server, an interface, and sensors. The interface receives data from a railroad system that manages the railroad parallel to the dedicated roadway. The sensors are positioned in a fixed location relative to the dedicated roadway. Each sensor can detect vehicles in a first field of view on the dedicated roadway. For each detected vehicle, each sensor can generate sensor data based on the detected vehicle in the dedicated roadway and the data received at the interface. Each sensor can generate observational data and instruct the detected vehicle to switch to an enhanced processing mode. Each sensor can determine an action for the detected vehicle to take based on the generated observational data.

The disclosure relates to a method for controlling a vehicle with an autonomous vehicle system which comprises an autonomous operating driving system which is configured to perform a dynamic driving task during fault-free operation of the autonomous operating driving system, and a redundancy driving system which is configured to carry out a reduced driving task. The autonomous operating driving system carries out trajectory planning and provides a planned trajectory for the reduced driving task to the redundancy driving system. If a fault of the operating driving system is detected, the redundancy driving system controls at least one vehicle actuator to perform the reduced driving task using the planned trajectory. Furthermore, the disclosure relates to an autonomous vehicle system and a vehicle with an autonomous vehicle system.

A fire fighting vehicle includes an energy storage system coupled to the chassis and a charging assembly configured to interface with a charging plug. The energy storage system includes battery cells. The charging assembly includes a housing, a charging port disposed within the housing and electrically coupled to the battery cells, a retainer positioned proximate the charging port, a first actuator, and a second actuator. The charging port is configured to engage with a charging interface of the charging plug. The retainer is configured to engage with a retaining interface of the charging plug to secure the charging interface within the charging port. The first actuator is positioned to release the retaining interface from engagement with the retainer by repositioning the retaining interface into a release position. The second actuator is positioned to eject the charging plug from the charging assembly when the retaining interface is in the release position.

A fire fighting vehicle includes a front axle, a rear axle, an energy storage system, an engine, a first motor/generator, and a second motor/generator. In a first mode, (a) the engine is off and (b) at least one of the first motor/generator or the second motor/generator uses stored energy in the energy storage system to drive at least one of the front axle or the rear axle. In a second mode, (a) the engine provides a mechanical input the first motor/generator, (b) the first motor/generator uses the mechanical input to generate electricity, (c) the second motor/generator uses the electricity to drive at least one of the front axle or the rear axle. Any electricity generated by either the first motor/generator or second motor/generator in response to the mechanical input from the engine is never provided to the energy storage system to charge the energy storage system.

An electrified fire fighting vehicle includes a chassis, a cab coupled to the chassis, a body coupled to the chassis, a front axle coupled to the chassis, a rear axle coupled to the chassis, a water tank supported by the chassis, an energy storage system coupled to the chassis and positioned rearward of the cab, a water pump supported by the chassis, and an electromagnetic device electrically coupled to the energy storage system. The electromagnetic device is coupled to the water pump and at least one of the front axle or the rear axle. The electromagnetic device is configured to receive stored energy from the energy storage system and provide a mechanical output to selectively drive the water pump and the at least one of the front axle or the rear axle.