A platooning system executes automatic follow-up running in line with a predetermined intervehicle distance between adjacent vehicles from a leading vehicle, the platoon participating vehicles each comprising a driving force source, an automatic transmission capable of shifting to a plurality of gear stages each having a different gear ratio, and an in-vehicle control device automatically controlling output of the driving force source and the gear stages of the automatic transmission, the platooning system comprising a platoon control device connected via wireless communication to the platoon participating vehicles, for managing at least shifting of the automatic transmission, the platoon control device executing platoon shift control that shifts the automatic transmission via the in-vehicle control device in order from vehicles on tail side among the platoon participating vehicles in case of satisfying shift conditions previously defined to allow the driving force source to work in a proper working range.

Systems and methods for using transmission sensor(s) in localization of an autonomous vehicle (“AV”) are described herein. Some implementations receive instance(s) of transmission sensor data generated by transmission sensor(s) of the AV, generate pose instance(s) of a pose of the AV based on the instance(s) of the transmission sensor data, and cause the AV to be controlled based on the pose instance(s). In some of those implementations, the pose instance(s) can be generated based on steering data the AV that indicates steering angle(s) of the autonomous, and that temporally correspond to the instance(s) of the transmission sensor data. In various implementations, the pose instance(s) may only be generated or utilized based on the instance(s) of the transmission sensor data (and optionally the steering data) in response to detecting an adverse event at the AV.

A hybrid vehicle includes an engine, a motor, and a controller. The controller is configured to control the engine and the motor. The controller is configured to, when the engine is operated under load at the time when the vehicle slows down and stops in an autonomous driving mode in which the vehicle runs without driver's operation, set a controlling lower limit rotation speed of the engine to a maximum rotation speed out of a plurality of candidate rotation speeds and control the engine such that the engine is operated under load within a range higher than or equal to the controlling lower limit rotation speed.

A vehicle driving apparatus includes: an engine; a fluid transmission device; first and second rotary electric machines; an output shaft for receiving a power transmitted through a first power transmission path and outputting the power to one of a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels; and a control device for controlling an engine operation point by adjusting an electrical path amount between the first and second rotary electric machines. The second rotary electric machine outputs the power to the other of the pair of front wheels and the pair of rear wheels, through a second power transmission path. The control device obtains a target electrical path amount enabling the engine operation point to become a target operation point, and causes a speed change device provided in the second power transmission path to establish a gear ratio enabling the target electrical path amount to be attainable.

A system for controlling a failure of an environment-friendly vehicle is provided to which a highway driving pilot (HDP) system is applied. The system includes a vehicle control unit (VCU) controller that operates a driving motor, an integrated electric booster (IEB) controller that operates IEB for controlling a brake of the environment-friendly vehicle and generate a request to the VCU controller for regenerative braking, and an HDP controller that calculates a required deceleration of the environment-friendly vehicle based on the situation around the environment-friendly vehicle, determined through cognitive control sensors applied to the environment-friendly vehicle. The HDP controller transmits the required deceleration to the IEB controller. At least one of regenerative braking of the driving motor or braking through the brake is performed based on a type of a fault message output by the IEB controller or a failure in communication between the HDP controller and the IEB controller.

The present invention relates to a method and device for estimating the road surface friction coefficient of a tire, which estimate the road surface friction coefficient of a tire mounted on a wheel of a vehicle in a state in which the vehicle is normally running at high speed. The method includes: acquiring the state information of a vehicle including at least one of engine state information, transmission state information, and chassis state information from sensors mounted on the vehicle and specifications set for the vehicle; estimating a longitudinal slip ratio, normal force, and longitudinal force for a tire mounted on each wheel of the vehicle by using the acquired state information of the vehicle; and estimating a road surface friction coefficient for the tire by using the estimated longitudinal slip ratio, normal force, and longitudinal force.

A turning control system for a vehicle having a driving motor to generate driving power may include: an error calculation unit that calculates an error between a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a reference lateral acceleration; and a reduction torque calculation unit that calculates a torque reduction of the driving motor in order to reduce the error calculated by the error calculation unit.

A mild hybrid vehicle and a method of controlling the same are provided. The mild hybrid vehicle includes a sensor that detects shift intention of a driver to provide the shift intention as sensing information, a controller that determines a target rotation speed of an MHSG based on the sensing information and controls the MHSG based on the target rotation speed, and the MHSG that controls the rotation speed of the engine under control of the controller when the shift intention is detected.

In a cruise control method and a cruise control apparatus for a manual transmission vehicle, upon receiving a signal from an input device to start a cruise mode, a cruise control controller calculates an optimal gear stage for satisfying a target cruise traveling speed according to a traveling state of a vehicle, and a display device displays the calculated optimal gear stage to the driver to induce the driver to shift to the optimal gear stage. In addition, whether the gear stage by the driver's operation has matched the optimal gear stage may be determined within a predetermined time to determine whether a cruise control continues according to the determination result, thereby eliminating the driver's inconvenience due to frequent cancellation of the cruise mode.

One way to improve fuel efficiency of a vehicle is to detect the vehicle operational shortcomings related to fuel consumption by determining whether fuel used during operation of the vehicle is normal fuel use or wasted fuel use. Considerations of idling, speeding and inappropriate gear shifts are some ways to measure the amount of fuel wasted due to operator shortcomings. Communicating this information to the operator in real-time so adjustments can be made will improve vehicle fuel efficiency. These techniques are applicable to tracking employment of other driving best practices as well.