An apparatus and a method for estimating a road surface friction coefficient relate to an apparatus of estimating a road surface friction coefficient including an additional power control module that arbitrarily adds a braking force, which causes a wheel speed difference, to an axle of the vehicle to which the braking force is applied, and together adds a driving force that cancels the braking force to an axle of the vehicle to which the driving force is applied, when it is determined that a driving state of the vehicle is an inertial driving state, and a road surface friction coefficient estimation module that estimates the road surface friction coefficient by the wheel speed difference caused by a newly added braking force.

A control device of a vehicle includes a discharge control unit. The discharge control unit, in a case where a plurality of regenerative sections are included in a scheduled traveling route, extracts a first regenerative section on a vehicle side, a second regenerative section closest to the first regenerative section, and a dischargeable section between the first regenerative section and the second regenerative section. The discharge control unit, in a case where a predicted regenerative electric power amount in the first regenerative section is greater than a predicted discharge electric power amount in the dischargeable section, sets a section obtained by merging the first regenerative section, the second regenerative section, and the dischargeable section as a control target section, and performs the discharge control based on a remaining capacity of a power storage device and a predicted regenerative electric power amount in the control target section.

A system for controlling a hybrid propulsion system includes a computer programmed to obtain altitude and terrain information associated with a predetermined route for the hybrid propulsion system comprising a first energy source and a second energy source. The computer is also programmed to obtain current and forecast ambient weather information associated with the predetermined route of the hybrid propulsion system, determine a power requirement and a torque requirement of the hybrid propulsion system associated with the altitude and the terrain along the predetermined route of the hybrid propulsion system, generate a trip plan to optimize at least one of a plurality of performance parameters of the hybrid propulsion system as the hybrid propulsion system travels along the predetermined route, and preferentially select the first energy source and/or the second energy source based on the trip plan.

A method is disclosed, comprising holding available, by at least a first apparatus, data associated with each road segment of at least one road segment, said data comprising (i) a representative of a first metric associated with spatial properties associated with the respective road segment; (ii) at least one representative of a second metric associated with at least one dynamic event associated with the respective road segment; and (iii) at least one representative of a third metric associated with a speed associated with the respective road segment, and wherein the method comprises, for at least one road segment of the at least one road segment, providing, by said at least one first apparatus, a safety data of the respective road segment at least partially based on the representative of the first metric, the at least one representative of the second metric and the at least one representative of the third metric associated with the respective road segment.

Provided is a method for propulsion of a vehicle, said vehicle comprising at least one power source for providing power to at least one drive wheel of said vehicle. The method includes, when said vehicle is to be driven along a first path: determining a torque profile for use in controlling said first power source when driving said vehicle along at least a first segment of said first path; determining said torque profile on the basis of an estimated representation of a demand for torque when driving said vehicle along said first segment; when determining said torque profile, reducing variations in torque delivered by said power source by allowing increased variations in speed of said vehicle; and when said vehicle is driven along said first segment of said first path, controlling torque delivered by said at least one power source according to said determined torque profile.

Described herein are devices, systems, and methods for managing the power consumption of an automotive vehicle, and thereby for optimizing the power consumption of the vehicle. The devices and systems for managing the power consumption of the vehicle typically include power management logic that can calculate an applied power for the vehicle engine based on information provided from the external environment of the vehicle, the operational status of the vehicle, one or more command inputs from a driver, and one or more operational parameters of the vehicle.

A method and a system for controlling a cruise control and a transmission in a vehicle over the course of a road section, wherein prior to the road section, the vehicle has applied coasting and utilizes the cruise control. A reference speed v.sub.ref utilized in the cruise control during the coasting is lowered to a lowest permitted speed v.sub.min defined for the road section if the lowering is deemed applicable. A comparison of a drive force F.sub.dd requested from an engine system in the vehicle with a threshold value F.sub.lim for the drive force is also carried out. The coasting is then suspended if the requested drive force F.sub.dd exceeds the threshold value F.sub.lim for the drive force.

An apparatus comprising an interface, a memory and a processor. The interface may be configured to receive sensor data samples during operation of a vehicle. The memory may be configured to store the sensor data samples over a number of points in time. The processor may be configured to analyze the sensor data samples stored in the memory to detect a pattern. The processor may be configured to manage an application of brakes of the vehicle in response to the pattern.

A motor vehicle cruise control system having an input for entering a desired vehicle speed. A vehicle speed deviation having a range both above and below the desired vehicle speed is entered. A memory at least temporarily saves a highway topography data set for a highway currently being traversed by a motor vehicle. A controller distinguishes an approaching highway topography change from a current highway topography condition using data from the highway topography data set; and calculates a modified vehicle speed having increased fuel economy for traversing the highway topography change compared to a fuel economy at a selected vehicle speed for the current highway topography condition and to change the vehicle speed to the modified vehicle speed having the increased fuel economy prior to reaching the upcoming highway topography change.

A method for determining a range of a vehicle, the vehicle having an electric motor to supply driving power and/or to recuperate braking energy, and a weight of the vehicle is determined on the basis of an acceleration and/or recuperation behavior as a function of a torque and/or a rotational speed of the electric motor, the range of the vehicle being determined on the basis of the ascertained vehicle weight.