The invention relates to a method for controlling a vehicle (1), the method comprising—establishing (S1) a plurality of example situations, wherein each example situation is characterized by a plurality of example situation features, including at least a velocity of the vehicle (VS), a velocity change of the vehicle (VCS), and a road inclination (αS), —determining (S2), for each of plurality of the example situations, a example situation cost (CS) dependent on a cost for operating the vehicle in the respective example situation, —subsequently obtaining (S3) topology data, indicative of a topology of a route (RT) to be travelled by the vehicle, —determining (S4-S8, S41), based at least partly on the route topology, and at least a plurality of the example situation costs (CS), a velocity profile (VP) for the vehicle along the route (RT).

The present disclosure relates to a method for determining road conditions, where the road conditions are arranged to be vehicle independent to thereby improve the usability to any form of vehicles to operate along a segment of a road. The present disclosure also relates to a corresponding control arrangement and to a computer program product.

A vehicle drive force control method according to the present invention includes calculating an estimated friction circle on the basis of longitudinal and lateral accelerations of a vehicle, limiting a drive force of the vehicle depending on a size of the estimated friction circle, and limiting a change rate of the size of the estimated friction circle during vehicle traveling on the basis of a tire generation force. The method further the change rate as the tire generation force increases.

A computer in a vehicle is configured to operate the vehicle in at least one of an autonomous and a semi-autonomous mode. The computer is further configured to detect at least one condition of a roadway being traveled by the vehicle, the condition comprising at least one of a restricted lane, a restricted zone, a construction zone, and accident area, an incline, a hazardous road surface. The computer is further configured to determine at least one autonomous action based on the condition, the at least one autonomous action including at least one of altering a speed of the vehicle, controlling vehicle steering, controlling vehicle lighting, transitioning the vehicle to manual control, and controlling a distance of the vehicle from an object.

An approach is provided for determining road surface friction data for at least one travel segment via sensor data and/or guideline friction map to cause at least one response action. The approach involves processing and/or facilitating a processing of sensor data to determine at least one road-vehicle friction change associated with at least one travel segment. The approach also involves causing, at least in part, a comparison of the at least one road-vehicle friction change to at least one guideline friction map. The approach further involves determining at least one response action to the at least one road-vehicle friction change based, at least in part, on the comparison.

A method for operating a motor vehicle having a four-wheel drive and a drive unit, which can be switched on and off during travel, wherein the motor vehicle is driven by a torque provided by the drive unit, and the initially disengaged four-wheel drive is switched on, including: determining at least one limit torque which, while the four-wheel drive is switched off, can be transmitted from at least one wheel of the motor vehicle driven by the drive unit to the ground surface upon which the motor vehicle is travelling, while the slip between the at least one wheel and the ground surface falls below a specifiable threshold value.

A road surface friction coefficient estimation apparatus for a vehicle includes: a first estimator; a second estimator; and a third estimator. The first estimator estimates a first road surface friction coefficient on a basis of a vehicle information acquired from the vehicle. The second estimator estimates a second road surface friction coefficient on a basis of an external information acquired from an outside of the vehicle. The third estimator estimates a road surface friction coefficient from the first road surface friction coefficient and the second road surface friction coefficient on a basis of a first reliability degree and a second reliability degree, the first reliability degree indicating a reliability of the first road surface friction coefficient, the second reliability degree indicating a reliability of the second road surface friction coefficient.

A driving force control apparatus for controlling a driving force to be transmitted to a wheel includes a processor. The processor is configured to set, when the wheel is idled, a control amount of the driving force to be transmitted to the wheel based on a vehicle acceleration.

In a travel control apparatus for a vehicle, a travel environment information acquisition unit acquires travel environment information, and a travel information detector detects travel information relating to the vehicle. The apparatus executes automatic driving control based on such information pieces. A vehicle peripheral object detector detects an object around the vehicle, separately to the travel environment information acquisition unit. An environment information acquisition failure detector detects an acquisition failure in the travel environment information acquisition unit. Upon an acquisition failure of the travel environment information, an evacuation controller executes evacuation control by evacuating the vehicle to the roadside through automatic driving based on the travel environment information detected most recently before the acquisition failure and the travel information, and activates the vehicle peripheral object detector and, when an object is detected on the periphery around the vehicle, executes the evacuation control.

A method and a device is described for determining the cross slope of a roadway or a negotiated curve for a motor vehicle, an evaluation unit being suppliable with measured values of a yaw rate sensor, of a driving speed sensor and of a lateral acceleration sensor as input signals, and the evaluation unit ascertaining therefrom a cross slope of the presently traveled roadway in that the difference value is formed between a calculated and a measured lateral acceleration, from which the roadway cross slope is derivable. The ascertained value is supplied to an adaptive cruise controller or a system for vehicle dynamics control in order to predefine an acceleration or a deceleration.