A system of computers configured to perform particular operations or actions by virtue of having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of them on the system that in operation causes or cause the system to perform the actions. One general aspect includes a system, including a computer programmed to control each of an autonomous vehicle propulsion, steering, and braking, where the vehicle is subject to autonomous control. The system makes a first determination, based on data from a vehicle sensor, of availability of a vehicle parking area and makes a second determination, based on at least a geolocation of the vehicle, a system fault, a conditional boundary and availability of the parking area, to autonomously park in the parking area. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding computer systems, apparatus, and computer programs recorded on one or more computer storage devices, each configured to perform the actions of the methods.

The vehicle running control apparatus (driving support ECU 10) determines whether or not the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state in which the driver has lost an ability to drive the vehicle, and stops the vehicle by reducing the vehicle speed to 0 after an abnormality determination time point when the driver is determined to be in the abnormal state. The vehicle running control apparatus predicts a position at which the vehicle stops when the vehicle speed is reduced at a predetermined deceleration, when the predicted stop position is not within a stop prohibited area (for example, a curved road and a section within a predetermined distance from a point at which the road changes from the curved road to the straight road), it decelerates the vehicle with the deceleration and stops the vehicle. In contrast, the vehicle running control apparatus makes the vehicle ran with a constant speed when the predicted stop position is within the stop prohibited area.

A vehicle control system including a driving controller, a detection section, a state prediction section, and a switching section. The driving controller controls to switch to either automated driving in which driving support is performed for at least one out of speed control or steering control of a vehicle by implementing any of plural driving modes having different levels of automated control, or manual driving performed based on operations of a driver of the vehicle on both the speed control and the steering control of the vehicle. The detection section detects a change to a surrounding environment of the driver. A state prediction section predicts a state unsuitable for the driver to drive will arise based on the change. The switching section switches the driving mode to a driving mode with a high level of automated control when the state unsuitable to drive is predicted to arise.

According to an embodiment, a navigation device installed in a vehicle includes an obtainer, a controller, and a reproducer. The obtainer obtains at least one of vehicle information related to the vehicle and driver information related to a driver of the vehicle. The controller controls, based on at least one of the vehicle information and the driver information, localization direction of a playback sound which is to be reproduced for the driver. The reproducer reproduces the playback sound using a three dimensional sound based on control of the localization direction.

A method for operating a vehicle, the vehicle being guided in fully automated fashion, and if an error is detected during the fully automated guidance, a safe state being selected from a plurality of safe states as a function of one parameter, the vehicle being guided in fully automated fashion into the selected safe state. Also described is an apparatus for operating a vehicle, as well as to a computer program.

An automated driving system 100 of a vehicle comprising: a surrounding environment information acquiring device 10; a vehicle information acquiring device 20; a driver information acquiring device 30; an automated driving executing part 90; a package determining part 91, a package proposing part 92; and an emergency condition judging part 93. The automated driving executing part performs automated driving of the vehicle based on an emergency driving assistance package packaging permissions of the plurality of driving assistance operations when the driver is in an emergency condition, if the emergency condition judging part judges that the driver is in an emergency condition, and performs automated driving of the vehicle based on the driving assistance package proposed by the packaging proposing part and approved by the driver, if the emergency condition judging part judges that the driver is not in an emergency condition.

A driving assist apparatus comprises a driver monitor sensor which detects a state of a driver of an own vehicle installed with the driving assist apparatus. The apparatus determines whether the driver is in a drowsy state, based on the state of the driver detected by the driver monitor sensor. The apparatus determines that a light collision occurs when a light collision determination condition that at least one collision index value representing a level of a collision of the own vehicle is larger than a light collision determination threshold at which an airbag is not developed, is satisfied. The apparatus executes a secondary collision damage mitigation control to apply a braking force to the own vehicle or limit a driving force applied to the own vehicle when determining that the driver is in the drowsy state, and the light collision occurs.

A system detects a lack of vigilance by a driver of a motor vehicle. The system includes a first monitoring unit to assess whether the vigilance of the driver is or is not above a vigilance threshold, at least two distinct loudspeakers, and a sound stage generator to control the at least two loudspeakers so as to simulate a stereophonic sound originating from a virtual sound source that is mobile relative to a seat of the driver when the vigilance of the driver becomes less than the vigilance threshold.

A vehicular awakening detection device 10 includes pressure sensors 48 provided in a + side paddle shift 46R and/or a − side paddle shift 46L which is able to be operated by a driver in a vehicle. The pressure sensor 48 is used for determining the degrees of awakening of a driver by making the driver to operate the + side paddle shift 46R and/or the − side paddle shift 46L.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling a vehicle. In one embodiment, a method includes: determining, by a processor, unresponsiveness of at least one of a driver and a vehicle system; in response to the determining, communicating, by a processor, a request for remote control to a remote server; in response to the communicating, receiving, by a processor, information from the remote server; and controlling the vehicle by one or more semi-autonomous or autonomous vehicle controls systems based on the received information.