A vehicle information processing method for calculating a feature related to an operation of a vehicle includes: receiving input information including at least one of information on a driving operation performed on the vehicle, information on an operating state of driver assistance of the vehicle, and information on a behavior of the vehicle; and calculating the feature by using the input information received during a predetermined period in which a predetermined condition is satisfied out of a period in which the input information is received. The predetermined condition includes a condition that a driving situation of the vehicle is a predetermined driving situation corresponding to the feature.

A safe following distance estimation system and an estimation method thereof are provided. The safe following distance estimation system adapted for an autonomous vehicle includes a sensor and a processor. The sensor senses an adjacent vehicle to generate first sensing data, and senses the autonomous vehicle to generate second sensing data. The processor estimates a first friction parameter between wheels of the adjacent vehicle and a pavement according to pavement material data, and estimates a second friction parameter between wheels of the autonomous vehicle and the pavement according to the second sensing data. The processor calculates a safe following distance between the autonomous vehicle and the adjacent vehicle according to the first sensing data, the second sensing data, the first friction parameter, the second friction parameter.

A vehicle control apparatus is mounted in a vehicle and includes: an object detecting unit that detects an object in a travelling direction of the vehicle; and a suppressing unit that suppresses driving force of the vehicle when the object detecting unit detects the object. The suppressing unit performs a first process to gradually increase the driving force when a command to move in the travelling direction is issued and the vehicle is stopped in a state in which the driving force of the vehicle is suppressed, and after the vehicle starts to move from the stopped state, performs a second process to gradually increase the driving force with an amount of increase per time in the driving force that is less than that in the first process.

A method for ascertaining movement variables of a two-wheeled vehicle. The two-wheeled vehicle includes a sensor system including rotational rate, acceleration, and wheel rotational speed sensors. The wheel rotational speed sensor detects at least one measurement pulse per rotation of a wheel of the two-wheeled vehicle. The method includes: acquisition of three-dimensional rotational rates of the two-wheeled vehicle by the rotational rate sensor, acquisition of acceleration values by the acceleration sensor, estimation of a state of movement of the two-wheeled vehicle based on the acquired rotational rates, the state of movement including estimated values for estimated acceleration values and for an estimated speed and for an estimated distance traveled, first correction of the estimated state of movement based on the acquired acceleration values, and ascertaining of an instantaneous speed of the two-wheeled vehicle and/or of a distance traveled by the two-wheeled vehicle, based on the corrected estimated state of movement.

A method for operating a two-wheeler. The two-wheeler includes a drive unit and a sensor system, the sensor system including a rotation rate sensor, an acceleration sensor, and a wheel speed sensor. The wheel speed sensor detects at least one measuring pulse per revolution of a wheel of the two-wheeler. The method includes: detecting three-dimensional rotation rates of the two-wheeler, detecting acceleration values of the two-wheeler, and estimating a motion state of the two-wheeler based on the detected rotation rates, the motion state including estimated values for estimated acceleration values and an estimated speed and an estimated distance covered, first correction of the estimated motion state based on the detected acceleration values, ascertaining an instantaneous steering angle of the two-wheeler based on the corrected estimated motion state, and actuating the drive unit and/or an antilocking system of the two-wheeler as a function of the ascertained instantaneous steering angle.

An example calibration system may include a tractor and a calibration unit. The tractor may include a first sensor and a second sensor. The calibration unit may include a processing unit and a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions to direct the processing unit to: (1) determine a first estimate for a tractor parameter based upon signals received from the first sensor; (2) determine a second estimate for the tractor parameter based upon signals received from the second sensor; (3) determine a third estimate for the tractor parameter based upon a combination of the first estimate and the second estimate; (4) determine a tractor parameter correction based upon the second estimate and the third estimate; and (4) apply the tractor parameter correction to the second sensor to control positioning of the tractor.

Systems and methods are provided for generating data indicative of a friction associated with a driving surface, and for using the friction data in association with one or more vehicles. In one example, a computing system can detect a stop associated with a vehicle and initiate a steering action of the vehicle during the stop. The steering action is associated with movement of at least one tire of the vehicle relative to a driving surface. The computing system can obtain operational data associated with the steering action during the stop of the vehicle. The computing system can determine a friction associated with the driving surface based at least in part on the operational data associated with the steering action. The computing system can generate data indicative of the friction associated with the driving surface.

Systems and methods are provided for applying an adaptive drive mode to a vehicle, including: the vehicle detecting selection of a drive mode and setting vehicle systems to correspond to the selected drive mode to place the vehicle in the selected drive mode; an adaptive drive mode circuit using vehicle sensor data to determine whether the vehicle is in a low-range mode of operation; and modifying the vehicle system settings that correspond to the selected drive mode if the vehicle is in low-range mode to adapt the vehicle system settings that correspond to the selected drive mode for the low-range mode of operation.

A vehicle includes a system and method of modeling and controlling a traction of a wheel of the vehicle. The system includes an observer, a predictive controller and an online solver. The observer receives a dynamic model parameter of the wheel and determines an estimate of a wheel velocity and an uncertainty in the wheel velocity using a non-linear model of the wheel. The predictive controller determines an average gain and differential gain from the estimate of the wheel velocity and the uncertainty in the wheel velocity. The online solver calculates a motor torque and a wheel brake torque for increasing the traction of the wheel with a road based on the average gain and the differential gain. The motor torque and the wheel brake torque are applied at the vehicle.

The present invention achieves a technology that enables estimating a ground contact load in a vehicle with sufficiently high accuracy. A ground contact load estimation device according to the present invention is configured to estimate a ground contact load of a vehicle by: acquiring a wheel angular velocity, a steady load, and an inertial load of the vehicle; calculating a first gain using the steady load and the inertial load; estimating a road surface load using the first gain, a prescribed vehicle specification, and a second gain representing a hysteresis characteristic of a tire installed on the vehicle and referencing said road surface load.