Methods and systems for assessing, detecting, and responding to malfunctions involving components of autonomous vehicle and/or smart homes are described herein. Autonomous operation features and related components can be assessed using direct or indirect data regarding operation. Such assessment may be performed to determine the condition of components for salvage following a collision or other loss-event. To this end, the information regarding a plurality of components may be received. A component of the plurality of components may be identified for assessment. Assessment may including causing test signals to be sent to the identified component. In response to the test signal, one or more responses may be received. The received response may be compared to an expected response to determine whether the identified component is salvageable.

Devices, systems, and methods are provided for enhanced rider pairing of an autonomous vehicle (AV). A system may pair a first user profile of a first user located at a first location with a first autonomous vehicle (AV) to complete a trip to a destination selected by the first user. The system may detect a second AV at the first location, wherein the second AV is associated with a second user profile. The system may connect the second AV with the first user using a connection mechanism. The system may select a profile status of the first user profile based on the connection to the second AV. The system may pair the first user profile with the second AV based on the profile status.

A motion planner of an autonomous vehicle's computer system uses reconfigurable collision detection architecture hardware to perform a collision assessment on a planning graph for the vehicle prior to execution of a motion plan. For edges on the planning graph, which represent transitions in states of the vehicle, the system sets a probability of collision with a dynamic object in the environment based at least in part on the collision assessment. Depending on whether the goal of the vehicle is to avoid or collide with a particular dynamic object in the environment, the system then performs an optimization to identify a path in the resulting planning graph with either a relatively high or relatively low potential of a collision with the particular dynamic object. The system then causes the actuator system of the vehicle to implement a motion plan with the applicable identified path based at least in part on the optimization.

A motion planner of an autonomous vehicle's computer system uses reconfigurable collision detection architecture hardware to perform a collision assessment on a planning graph for the vehicle prior to execution of a motion plan. For edges on the planning graph, which represent transitions in states of the vehicle, the system sets a probability of collision with a dynamic object in the environment based at least in part on the collision assessment. Depending on whether the goal of the vehicle is to avoid or collide with a particular dynamic object in the environment, the system then performs an optimization to identify a path in the resulting planning graph with either a relatively high or relatively low potential of a collision with the particular dynamic object. The system then causes the actuator system of the vehicle to implement a motion plan with the applicable identified path based at least in part on the optimization.

An acceleration rate is controlled so that a vehicle speed during autonomous driving is caused to approach a target vehicle speed. When a host vehicle has caught up with another vehicle traveling ahead of the host vehicle, the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is limited in accordance with a headway distance to the other vehicle. An acceleration rate is changed in accordance with a frequency with which the host vehicle catches up to a preceding vehicle, which is another vehicle immediately ahead of the host vehicle, and to another vehicle ahead of the preceding vehicle.

A vehicle drive route instruction system in a hybrid vehicle in which when it is judged that currently the vehicle is driving through the inside of the engine drive restriction zone where driving by the internal combustion engine is restricted, the internal combustion engine is made to stop operating, the electric motor is used to drive the vehicle, and the shortest route from the current position to the boundary of the inside of the engine drive restriction zone and the outside of the engine drive restriction zone is searched. When it is judged that the SOC amount will fall to the preset judgment standard when driving the vehicle through the searched shortest route from the current position to the boundary, an occupant of the vehicle is given information to guide the vehicle from the current position through the searched shortest route to the boundary.

Described herein is a server computing system that controls an autonomous vehicle to perform an operation to at least one of measure or isolate an effect of a variable on an actual power consumption by the autonomous vehicle. Data indicative of the actual power consumption, which is generated based on the operation, and data indicative of a projected power consumption, which is accumulated based on prior execution of the operation by a same or different autonomous vehicle, is received by the server computing system to determine whether an energy efficiency of the autonomous vehicle is degraded. The operation may be performed to identify a degraded vehicle system or component of the autonomous vehicle or to identify an autonomous vehicle in a fleet of autonomous vehicles for which further analysis is desirable. An output is generated by the server computing system that is indicative of the energy efficiency prognostics.

A battery diagnostic device includes a first discharge process unit that performs a first diagnostic discharge, a first determination unit that determines whether a deterioration diagnosis of the battery is possible based on a physical quantity indicating the state of the battery during the first diagnostic discharge acquired by a first acquisition unit, a second discharge process unit that performs a second diagnostic discharge when it is determined that the deterioration diagnosis of the battery is impossible, and a diagnosis unit that performs the deterioration diagnosis of the battery based on the physical quantity acquired by the first acquisition unit when it is determined that the deterioration diagnosis of the battery is possible, and performs the deterioration diagnosis of the battery based on a physical quantity indicating the state of the battery during the second diagnostic discharge when it is determined that the deterioration diagnosis of the battery is impossible.

A battery diagnostic device includes a first discharge process unit that performs a first diagnostic discharge, a first determination unit that determines whether a deterioration diagnosis of the battery is possible based on a physical quantity indicating the state of the battery during the first diagnostic discharge acquired by a first acquisition unit, a second discharge process unit that performs a second diagnostic discharge when it is determined that the deterioration diagnosis of the battery is impossible, and a diagnosis unit that performs the deterioration diagnosis of the battery based on the physical quantity acquired by the first acquisition unit when it is determined that the deterioration diagnosis of the battery is possible, and performs the deterioration diagnosis of the battery based on a physical quantity indicating the state of the battery during the second diagnostic discharge when it is determined that the deterioration diagnosis of the battery is impossible.

According to the method and system of the present invention, a power management system regulates the power provided to various individual on-board vehicle systems in response to detection of vehicle operating conditions and overall anticipated vehicle energy requirements for completion of a planned route, with the objective of conserving as much energy as necessary for the vehicle to reach its planned destination.