A vehicle control device includes at least one electronic control unit configured to recognize at least one object, calculate a time to collision, operate first driving assistance, when the time to collision is equal to or less than a first threshold value, operate second driving assistance for avoiding the collision between the at least one object and the host vehicle or reducing damage of the collision, when the time to collision is equal to or less than a second threshold value smaller than the first threshold value, and set, while the first driving assistance is operated, the second threshold value to a second setting value smaller than a first setting value set when the first driving assistance is not operated, when a second target object causing the second driving assistance to operate is the same object as a first target object causing the first driving assistance to operate.

A method for operating a first vehicle operated in an at least semiautomated manner. Surrounding-area information and operating data of the first vehicle operated in an at least semiautomated manner are initially acquired. At least one second vehicle traveling ahead in the direction of travel of the first vehicle is detected as a function of the acquired surrounding-area information. At least one collision-free evasive trajectory of the first vehicle is calculated in response to a predicted collision of the second vehicle, as a function of the acquired surrounding-area information and the acquired operating data of the first vehicle. A distance from the first vehicle to the second vehicle is adjusted in such a manner that at least one collision-free evasive trajectory is available. A processing unit and a first vehicle including the processing unit are also described.

Systems and methods for coordinating and controlling vehicles, for example heavy trucks, to follow closely behind each other, or linking, in a convenient, safe manner and thus to save significant amounts of fuel while increasing safety. In an embodiment, on-board controllers in each vehicle interact with vehicular sensors to monitor and control, for example, relative distance, relative acceleration/deceleration, and speed. Additional safety features in at least some embodiments include providing each driver with one or more visual displays of forward and rearward looking cameras. Long-range communications are provided for coordinating vehicles for linking, and for communicating analytics to fleet managers or others.

An apparatus for controlling a direction and speed of travel an autonomous vehicle or driver assisted autonomous vehicle (AV). A GPS and map module receive a start location and a destination location for the AV. A plurality of sensors identify a current and a proposed lane for the AV. A database of AV baseline maneuver profiles used to control one or more of direction and speed of travel of the AV is provided. A trajectory profile generator module generates a planned path for the AV with lateral acceleration less than 2 Hz, based on the start location, the destination location, the current and proposed lane for the AV, and a selected AV baseline maneuver profile from the database. A steering control module controls the direction of travel of the AV based on the generated AV planned path, and a supervisory control module controls the speed of the AV based on the generated AV planned path and inner ear constraints.

The technology relates to an exterior sensor system for a vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous driving mode. The technology includes a close-in sensing (CIS) camera system to address blind spots around the vehicle. The CIS system is used to detect objects within a few meters of the vehicle. Based on object classification, the system is able to make real-time driving decisions. Classification is enhanced by employing cameras in conjunction with lidar sensors. The specific arrangement of multiple sensors in a single sensor housing is also important to object detection and classification. Thus, the positioning of the sensors and support components are selected to avoid occlusion and to otherwise prevent interference between the various sensor housing elements.

An autonomous vehicle (AV) includes features that allows the AV to comply with applicable regulations and statues for performing safe driving operation. An example system for an AV includes obtaining, by a computer located in the AV, an image from a camera located on the AV, where the image characterizes an area towards which the AV is driven on a lane on a road or a highway; determining, from the image, that a pedestrian or a cyclist is located next to the lane on the road or the highway; and in response to the determining, performing driving operations on the AV such as steering from a center of the lane to a first side of the lane that is away from the center of the lane and away from a location of the pedestrian or the cyclist, and/or slowing down the AV in response to certain conditions.

In a vehicle traveling remote control system, vehicles and a remote control apparatus communicate repeatedly transmit, from the remote control apparatus to each vehicle, a remote control value to be used to control traveling of the vehicle. The vehicle traveling remote control system includes the remote control apparatus and a traveling control unit. The remote control apparatus includes a remote control value generating unit that repeatedly generates the remote control value for traveling control of each vehicle, on the basis of detection information detected by each vehicle. The traveling control unit is provided in each vehicle and executes the traveling control on the basis of the remote control value repeatedly received from the remote control apparatus. The remote control value generating unit generates the remote control value by a process that varies depending on a communication delay of vehicle information including the detection information received from each vehicle.

A vehicle comprising a safety device comprising a supporting member having a first end provided with a joint part which is pivotally mounted on a side wall of the vehicle, and a second end configured to bear on the ground. The vehicle further comprises an actuator connected to the supporting member and configured to move it relative to the vehicle between an inactive position in which the supporting member is located along the vehicle side wall, with the second end at a distance from the ground, and a safety position in which the supporting member extends between the vehicle side wall and the ground, to limit vehicle roll by means of the second end bearing on the ground.

In a vehicle control device, a switching hyperplane generation unit generates a switching hyperplane based on a travel state of a vehicle and cornering stiffness dependent on a travel surface state as a state of a road surface on which the vehicle travels. A deviation computation unit calculates a deviation between a target trajectory and an actual trajectory of the vehicle. A state estimation unit estimates a state to be controlled of the vehicle based on the deviation calculated by the deviation computation unit. A target steering angle and acceleration/deceleration computation unit calculates a target steering angle and a target acceleration/deceleration rate of the vehicle based on the switching hyperplane generated by the switching hyperplane generation unit and an estimated state as the state estimated by the state estimation unit.

An HMI control device includes an automation level acquisition portion and a display control unit. The automation level acquisition portion acquires an autonomous driving level determined by a driving control device. The display control portion controls an image display operation of an HMI device according to the autonomous driving level acquired by the automation level acquisition portion. When terminating a high autonomous driving level as the autonomous driving level, the display control portion controls the HMI device to provide an action instruction display that instructs the driver to take a low-level associated state so as to handle a low autonomous driving level. The low autonomous driving level is the autonomous driving level under which an in-vehicle system including the driving control device is prohibited from performing at least one of a lateral motion control realized by performing steering and a longitudinal motion control realized by performing acceleration/deceleration.