An autonomous vehicle which includes multiple independent control systems that provide redundancy as to specific and critical safety situations which may be encountered when the autonomous vehicle is in operation.

An autonomous driving control system and a method thereof are provided. The autonomous driving control system includes a strategy performing device that generates and performs a stop strategy of a vehicle on the basis of a target stop location, when a critical situation occurs during autonomous driving, a behavior controller that controls a behavior of the vehicle depending on the stop strategy, and an emergency module controller that runs a predetermined emergency module, when the critical situation occurs.

A vehicle includes an inputter receiving an emergency stop command; an emergency stop condition determiner determining that an emergency stop condition is satisfied when a driver's state is determined as a predetermined inoperable state, a steering wheel is not operated for a predetermined time period, or a rate of change of a yaw rate of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value; a sensor configured for detecting an obstacle around the vehicle; and a controller configured to determine whether the vehicle can avoid collision with a front obstacle only by braking without a lane change, to determine a risk area in an adjacent lane based on a braking distance of the vehicle and obstacle detection information in a lane adjacent to a driving lane of the vehicle, and to control the lane change or a braking process of the vehicle based on whether the obstacle is detected in the determined risk area.

A device and method for safety stoppage of an autonomous road vehicle having a localization system and sensors for monitoring the vehicle surroundings and motion, and a signal processing system for processing sensor signals enabling an autonomous drive mode. A processor continuously predicts where a drivable space exists, calculates and stores a safe trajectory to a stop within the drivable space, determines a current traffic situation, and determines any disturbances in sensor data, vehicle systems or components enabling the autonomous drive mode. If an incapacitating disturbance is determined, a request for a driver to take control is signaled and it is determined if the driver has assumed control. If not, the vehicle is controlled to follow the most recent safe trajectory to a stop in a safe stoppage maneuver during which, or after, one or more risk mitigation actions adapted to the determined current traffic situation are performed.

An emergency controller includes an emergency stop switch to be activated upon detection of an emergency, a control section to be enabled upon activation of the emergency stop switch, and an emergency stop mechanism configured to execute and release braking by a brake mechanism under control of the control section. The control section is configured to perform execution control for causing the emergency stop mechanism to execute braking by the brake mechanism and for stopping operation of the engine upon the condition that the emergency stop switch is activated while the engine is in operation. The control section is configured to perform restoration control for causing the emergency stop mechanism to release the braking by the brake mechanism upon the condition that the emergency stop switch is deactivated and the engine is started.

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.

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.

This disclosure relates to a system and method for transitioning vehicle control between autonomous operation and manual operation. The system includes sensors configured to generate output signals conveying information related to the vehicle and its operation. During autonomous vehicle operation, the system gauges the level of responsiveness of a vehicle operator through challenges and corresponding responses. The system determines when to present a challenge to the vehicle operator based on internal and external factors. If necessary, the system will transition from an autonomous operation mode to a manual operation mode.

A vehicle control device that includes: an airbag device including an airbag, the airbag being configured as an integral bag body for surrounding a head of an occupant with a front deployment section including a front inflation section that is inflated and deployed in front of a seat corresponding to the head and at least one of shoulders or a chest of the occupant, and a left and right pair of lateral deployment sections including lateral inflation sections that are connected to the front deployment section and are inflated and deployed at sides of the head of the occupant; and a controller that, after the airbag device has been actuated, executes a drive-to-refuge mode in which driving of a power unit of a vehicle and steering of a steering system are controlled to drive the vehicle to take refuge at a road shoulder.