Included are an electromagnetic actuator which generates a drive force for damping vibration of a vehicle body; an information acquirer which acquires time-series information about a stroke position of, and information about a stroke velocity of, the electromagnetic actuator, as well as information about reverse of a stroke direction and information about a stroke amount after the reverse; a damping force calculator which calculates a target damping force based on the information about the stroke velocity; and a drive controller which controls drive of the electromagnetic actuator using a target drive force based on the target damping force calculated by the damping force calculator. The damping force calculator corrects the target drive force based on the information about the stroke amount after the reverse acquired by the information acquirer.

A pneumatic suspension system may include, for each wheel of a vehicle, a strut and an adjustment cylinder in fluid communication with the strut. Adjustment cylinders associated with an end of the vehicle may be mechanically coupled while keeping the cylinders isolated pneumatically. A suspension control system can control fluid flow at each of the adjustment cylinders to selectively engage or disengage an anti-roll feature. By allowing fluid flow at the adjustment cylinders, the struts are free to oscillate in response to forces at the associated wheel, e.g., caused by an uneven road. By inhibiting fluid flow at the adjustment cylinders, forces experienced at the struts can be transferred between multiple struts. In some examples, the fluid flow at the adjustment cylinders can be controlled to vary the travel distance of the struts, to selectively provide a stiffer or looser suspension.

An electrically powered suspension system includes: an actuator that generates a load for damping vibration of the vehicle body; an information acquisition part that acquires information on a sprung state amount and a road surface state; a target load calculation part that calculates a first target load related to skyhook control based on the sprung state amount and calculates a second target load related to preview control based on the road surface state; and a load control part. The target load calculation part is further configured to calculate a third target load related to virtual spring force control based on a stroke position and to calculate a combined target load into which the first target load, the second target load, and the third target load have been combined. The load control part performs load control of the actuator using the combined target load.

An electrically powered suspension system includes: an actuator that is provided between a vehicle body and a wheel of a vehicle and generates a load for damping vibration of the vehicle body; an information acquisition part that acquires information on a sprung state amount and a road surface state; a target load calculation part that calculates a first target load related to skyhook control based on the sprung state amount and calculates a second target load related to preview control based on the road surface state; and a load control part. The target load calculation part calculates a third target load related to pitch generation control based on a target pitch angle and calculates a combined target load into which the first target load, second target load, and third target load have been combined. The load control part performs load control of the actuator using the combined target load.

A method for operating a vehicle that includes a passenger is described. In one example, the method adjusts vehicle suspension and exhaust system sound in response to characteristics of the passenger that are monitored via a camera and a microphone. The method may operate the vehicle suspension and exhaust system in a way that sooths the passenger.

A powertrain for a vehicle may include a vehicle chassis, a rotatable vehicle drive axle, at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor having a rotatable motor shaft rotatable about an axis defined by the rotatable vehicle drive axle, a motor actuator connected to the at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor, and a control system in communication with the motor actuator. The control system may include a memory device in communication with the control system having instructions that when executed by the control system causes the control system to receive at least one input from at least one sensor and instruct the motor actuator to rotate the at least one selectively movable electric propulsion motor based on the at least one input from the sensor.

Aspects and implementations of the present disclosure relate to performance and safety improvements for autonomous trucking systems, such as mitigation of blind spots in the field of view of a sensing system of an autonomous vehicle, using shielding by other vehicles in adverse weather conditions, and deploying a cooperative expansion of the sensing field of view using external sensing systems.

Aspects and implementations of the present disclosure relate to performance and safety improvements for autonomous trucking systems, such as reactive suspensions for maximizing aerodynamic performance and minimizing mechanical impact from road imperfections, automated placement of emergency signaling devices, and techniques of enhanced illumination of stopped and stranded vehicles.

Methods and systems are provided for adjusting a height of an electric vehicle with an adjustable suspension system. In one example, a method comprises: during a vehicle stop event, adjusting a height of a skateboard frame of an electric vehicle via an adjustable suspension system, based on at least one sensor input indicative of a desired skateboard frame height. In this way, user activities, including loading and unloading, may be facilitated.

An apparatus for controlling a suspension of a vehicle to improve high-speed driving stability of the vehicle includes: a sensor that obtains information about a road surface ahead the vehicle during travel of the vehicle; and a controller that derives a height value of the road surface from the information about the road surface, determines a state of the road surface based on a differential value of the derived height value, predicts vehicle behavior corresponding to the determined state of the road surface, and controls a damping force of the suspension based on the predicted vehicle behavior.