A vehicle electronic system having an electronic controller and a power switching device configured to switch between a first power setting and a second power setting. The first power setting includes powering at least one of a plurality of electrically powered accessories with power from an on-board electric power supply. The second power setting includes powering the at least one of the plurality of electrically powered accessories with power from an external power supply thereby preventing the use of electric power from the on-board electric power supply. The electronic controller is configured to electronically operate the switching device to switch between the first power setting and the second power setting such that in response to detection of power from the external power supply, the switching device is switched to the second power mode.

A vehicular motion monitoring method comprises capturing motion observations on-board a vehicle with one or more sensors; mapping sets of motion observations onto a respective feature vector in an at least two-dimensional feature space, each feature vector having a first vector component representative of a longitudinal motion characteristic and a second vector component representative of a lateral motion characteristic; updating determinative parameters of a multivariate Gaussian probability density function modelling a population of collected feature vectors; assigning a riskiness indicator to each feature vector, the calculation of the riskiness indicator being based upon an event severity indictor indicative of how anomalous each feature vector is in comparison to the modelled population and upon a position of the feature vector relative to one or more previous and/or subsequent feature vectors; and integrating the riskiness indicator over time so as to obtain a risk assessment of driving style of the driver of the vehicle.

A computer-implemented method, system, and/or computer program product controls a driving mode of a self-driving vehicle (SDV). One or more processors compare a control processor competence level of an on-board SDV control processor in controlling the SDV to a human driver competence level of a human driver in controlling the SDV while the SDV encounters a current roadway condition which is a result of current weather conditions of the roadway on which the SDV is currently traveling. One or more processors then selectively assign control of the SDV to the SDV control processor or to the human driver while the SDV encounters the current roadway condition based on which of the control processor competence level and the human driver competence level is relatively higher to one another.

A system detects a parameter and generates a first trip plan to automatically control the vehicle according to a first trip plan. A controller is connected to a sensor and configured to receive the parameter. The controller is configured to generate a new trip plan or modify the first trip plan into a modified trip plan based on at least one of a cumulative damage or an end of life. A new trip plan or the modified trip plan is configured, during operation of the vehicle according to the new trip plan or the modified trip plan, for at least one of an adjustment in velocity or avoiding one or more operating conditions of the vehicle, relative to the first trip plan.

A vehicle and method for vehicle noise reduction for vehicle occupants are provided. The method comprises detecting a position of a window of the vehicle; and controlling the duty of an operational component of the vehicle based on the position of the window of the vehicle and at least one of: a speed of the vehicle, and a presence of a sound-reflecting structure proximate to the vehicle; wherein the operational component is external to a cabin of the vehicle; and wherein noise generated by the operational component increases with a duty of the operational component.

A control device of a vehicle comprises a vehicle control part 61 configured to use a probability distribution of at least one predetermined parameter to calculate an expected value of each of at least one evaluation value and control the vehicle 1 based on the expected value.

Vehicles may be composed of a relatively few number of modules that are assembled together during a final assembly process. An example vehicle may include a body module, a first drive module coupled to a first end of the body module, and a second drive module coupled to a second end of the body module. One or both of the drive modules may include a pair of wheels, a battery, an electric drive motor, and/or a heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. One or both of the drive modules may also include a crash structure to absorb impacts. If a component of a drive module fails or is damaged, the drive module can be quickly and easily replaced with a new drive module, minimizing vehicle down time.

In a control device of a hybrid vehicle including an engine, a rotating machine, a power transmission device, and an electric oil pump, the control device comprising; a state determining portion; an electric oil pump control portion performing a test operation of the electric oil pump for determining whether the electric oil pump operates normally when it is determined that the measured temperature of the oil allows the electric oil pump to operate normally; and an engine control portion, the electric oil pump control portion performs the test operation of the electric oil pump in a predetermined period after a power supply state of the hybrid vehicle is switched to a power-on state enabling the vehicle to run and before the hybrid vehicle actually starts running, and when the test operation of the electric oil pump is performed in the predetermined period, the engine control portion starts the engine.

A method of performing temperature control of a hybrid vehicle implements a mode change control method capable of efficiently performing heating in cold weather by predicting a stop of the hybrid vehicle. The method includes receiving an engine operation request from a full automatic temperature control (FATC) unit, determining whether to enter a first hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode utilizing engine power as driving force, determining whether a predicted stop time is equal to or less than a predetermined time, when entry into the first HEV mode is impossible, and disallowing entry into a second HEV mode utilizing engine power for generation of electricity, when the predicted stop time is equal to or less than the predetermined time.

A motorized vehicle can include a ground-engaging wheel or propeller, an electric motor that rotates the wheel or propeller, an internal combustion engine, and a generator that produces electrical power in response to operation of the internal combustion engine. The motorized vehicle can include a controller that is configured to selectively supply the electrical power from the generator to a battery and/or the electric motor. A method of operating a motorized vehicle can include inputting journey data to a controller, the journey data including a journey distance and/or a journey destination, and the controller selecting a rotational speed of an internal combustion engine of the motorized vehicle based at least in part on the journey data.