A system includes an acquisition unit that acquires an operation amount or a duration count, and a switching unit that switches a driving state. The switching unit switches the driving state to the cooperative driving state when the operation amount is equal to or greater than an intervention threshold and less than a start threshold or the duration count is equal to or greater than a first threshold and less than a second threshold during the autonomous driving state, switches the driving state to the autonomous driving state when the operation amount is less than the intervention threshold or the duration count is less than the first threshold during the cooperative driving state, and switches the driving state to the manual driving state when the operation amount is equal to or greater than the start threshold or the duration count is equal to or greater than the second threshold.

A vehicle automated driving system 100 comprises a surrounding environment information acquiring device 10, a vehicle information acquiring device 20, a driver information acquiring device 30, a package selecting part 90, a package proposing part 91, an automated driving executing part 92, and a rejection count detecting part 93. The package selecting part determines the driving assistance package based on at least one of the surrounding environment information, the vehicle information, and the driver information, selects the determined driving assistance package if the rejection count of the determined driving assistance package is less than a predetermined threshold value, and selects a driving assistance package different from the determined driving assistance package if the rejection count of the determined driving assistance package is the threshold value or more.

An illustrative example system for developing an autonomous vehicle response includes a simulator that provides an at least visual simulation of a plurality of different situations that may be encountered while driving, a driver input device that allows the driver to respond to the simulation of the plurality of situations in a manner consistent with the driver's driving response to the situations, respectively, and a compute device including at least one processor and data storage associated with the processor. The compute device is configured to determine a profile of the driver based on information from the driver input device regarding the driver's driving responses to the simulation of the situations. The profile is at least temporarily stored in the data storage. The profile provides information for controlling the autonomous vehicle response to an actual situation corresponding to at least one of the simulated situations.

A controller that controls driving of an autonomously moving vehicle includes a first sensor that detects an obstacle and a direction of travel of the vehicle, and a processor that sets a virtual region surrounding the vehicle. Processor stops the vehicle when the obstacle is detected therein, determines whether the obstacle is present in the direction of travel, determines whether the vehicle has been stopped for a predetermined amount of time when the obstacle is present, reduces a length of the virtual region in the direction of travel to provide an adjusted virtual region when the vehicle is determined to have been stopped for the predetermined amount of time, causes the vehicle to drive when the obstacle is not detected within the adjusted virtual region, and stops the vehicle when the obstacle is detected within the adjusted virtual region.

Each of a plurality of landing pads is sized and shaped to accommodate an AV. Landing pad sensor(s) are located in or around each landing pad. A control subsystem receives landing pad sensor data from the one or more landing pad sensors and receives, from a first AV traveling to a location of the plurality of landing pads, a request for an assigned landing pad in which the first AV should park. In response to this request, the control subsystem determines, based on the received landing pad sensor data, whether a first landing pad is free of obstructions that would prevent receipt of the first AV. If the first landing pad is free of obstructions, an indication is provided to the AV that the first landing pad is the assigned landing pad.

A method and a device for localizing a vehicle in its surroundings, the vehicle having surround sensors, which at first times detect views of the surroundings using the surround sensors as sensor views and supply these to an evaluation unit, and having a communication interface, via which at second times current surroundings data regarding the current surroundings of the vehicle are transmitted to the evaluation unit, and the localization of the vehicle occurs in that in the evaluation unit the surroundings data, which were detected by the surround sensors at first times, and the temporally corresponding surrounding data, which were transmitted via the communication interface, are superimposed on one another. If it is detected that features in the surroundings data detected by the sensors and/or features in the surroundings data supplied via the communication interface occur multiple times in the data pertaining to one point in time and these represent one or multiple objects, these are transmitted only once to the evaluation device and, for a repeated occurrence of the features in the data pertaining to one point in time, only the positional data of the repeatedly occurring object are transmitted anew.

Signals are received from a plurality of sources, representing aspects of the vehicle, a vehicle operator, and an environment surrounding the vehicle. An alertness factor and a readiness factor are developed based at least in part on the signals. Control of the vehicle is transitioned between levels of autonomous control based at least in part on the alertness factor and the readiness factor.

An action probability factor is developed based at least in part on a plurality of probability arrays predicting one or more probabilities of a deviation from at least one of a planned vehicle direction, position, speed, and acceleration. Levels of autonomous control are transitioned based at least in part on the action probability factor.

Signals are from a plurality of sources representing aspects of the vehicle and an environment surrounding the vehicle. An autonomous confidence factor is developed based on component confidence levels for at least one of the signals. Control of the vehicle is transitioned between levels of autonomous control based at least in part on the autonomous confidence factor.

Signals are received from a plurality of sources, representing operating characteristics of a vehicle and an environment surrounding the vehicle. A plurality of operational factors are developed based on the signals. The vehicle is controlled according to one of at least three levels of control, including an autonomous, a semi-autonomous, and a manual level of control, based on the operational factors.