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.

A vehicle controller includes a processor configured to detect an object region including another vehicle near a vehicle from each of time series images obtained by a camera mounted on the vehicle; detect a predetermined action taken by the other vehicle, based on a trajectory of the other vehicle estimated from the object region of each image; identify the state of a signal light of the other vehicle, based on characteristics obtained from pixel values of the object region of each image; extract information indicating characteristics of an action of the other vehicle or the state of a signal light at the predetermined action taken by the other vehicle, based on the predetermined action detected in a tracking period and the state of the signal light related to the predetermined action; and predict behavior of the other vehicle, using the extracted information.

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.

Systems and methods navigate a vehicle by determining a free space region in which the vehicle can travel. In one implementation, a system may include at least one processor programmed to receive from an image capture device, a plurality of images associated with the environment of a vehicle, analyze at least one of the plurality of images to identify a first free space boundary on a driver side of the vehicle and extending forward of the vehicle, a second free space boundary on a passenger side of the vehicle and extending forward of the vehicle, and a forward free space boundary forward of the vehicle and extending between the first free space boundary and the second free space boundary. The first free space boundary, the second free space boundary, and the forward free space boundary may define a free space region forward of the vehicle. The at least one processor of the system may be further programmed to determine a navigational path for the vehicle through the free space region and cause the vehicle to travel on at least a portion of the determined navigational path within the free space region forward of the vehicle.

A method for measuring an inter-vehicle distance includes acquiring a driving image photographed by a photographing device of a first vehicle which is being driven; detecting a second vehicle from the acquired driving image; detecting first feature points of a second vehicle region in a first frame corresponding to a frame in which the second frame is detected before a frame in which the second vehicle is not detected among a plurality of frames constituting the driving image, when the second vehicle is not detected from the driving image; detecting second feature points in a second frame corresponding to a current frame by tracking the detected first feature points; calculating a feature point change value between the first feature points and the second feature points; and calculating an inter-vehicle distance from the photographing device of the first vehicle to the second vehicle based on the calculated feature point change value.

A target pathway generating device basically has a generating unit that generates a target pathway at a predetermined timing for controlling the driving of a vehicle in a predetermined section, and a setting unit that sets a target vehicle speed in advance at a section endpoint of the section in which the vehicle is currently driven. The target vehicle speed is used when the generating unit cannot generate a target pathway at the predetermined timing. The setting unit sets the target vehicle speed based on road information in the predetermined section.

There is provided a portable electronic monitoring device for providing an in-vehicle user warning system about how a semi-autonomous vehicle is being driven autonomously during a driving period. The device is removably and securely mountable to the vehicle and comprises: a sensor set comprising at least one sensor for sensing an exterior environment outside of the vehicle and movement of the vehicle within the exterior environment, an interface for receiving user input commands and delivering a warning output; and a processor operatively connected to the sensor set and the interface; wherein the sensor set is configured to monitor the automatic operation of the semi-autonomous vehicle within the exterior environment during the driving period and to generate sensor data representing driving events concerning the automated driving behaviour of the vehicle with respect to the exterior environment occurring during the driving period. The processor is configured to: process the sensor data during the driving period to compare the detected automated driving behaviour of the vehicle in the external environment with a model of expected automated vehicle driving behaviour for a particular driving event; identify a dangerous driving event, if the detected automated driving behaviour deviates beyond a threshold from the expected automated vehicle driving behaviour; and if a dangerous driving event has been detected, generate a warning alert via the interface to alert the driver to the occurrence of the dangerous driving event.

Automated drive assisting devices, methods, and programs acquire position specifying information for specifying a vehicle position during travel, and acquire a continuity degree that represents a degree to which automated drive can be continued on the basis of the position specifying information acquired during the automated drive. The devices, methods, and programs determine whether the automated drive can be continued on the basis of the acquired continuity degree, and determine vehicle control information for controlling a vehicle such that the continuity degree becomes higher on the basis of the acquired position specifying information in the case where it is determined that the automated drive cannot be continued. The devices, methods, and programs output the determined vehicle control information to a vehicle control device that controls the vehicle.

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device for a vehicle, comprising a number of first control devices which are independent of each other and are arranged in a first logical level and designed to calculate predetermined first vehicle control functions and to output first calculation results, a number of further control devices which are independent of each other, are arranged in a number which is superordinate from the first logical level and hierarchically arranged among each other and are designed to calculate further predetermined vehicle control functions and to output further calculation results. According to the invention, the further control devices are designed to use calculation results only of those control devices as input variables for the corresponding vehicle control functions which are arranged in logical levels hierarchically below the logical level of the respective control device.

The present invention addresses the problem that a host vehicle changes lanes and comes into contact with a following vehicle or causes the following vehicle to rapidly decelerate when the other vehicle rapidly approaches the host vehicle from outside a recognizable zone in the presence of another vehicle traveling in the lane to which the host vehicle is about to travel. Provided is a vehicle control system characterized in that a driver is notified that a lane change is not possible, the vehicle control system having: an external recognition means for detecting the lane markers of the lane in which the host vehicle is traveling and/or detecting another vehicle in the surrounding area of the host vehicle; a limit-distance calculation means for determining the detectable limit distance of the external recognition means; a relative-speed calculation means for calculating the speed relative to a hypothetical vehicle present outside the detectable limit distance when no other vehicle is present within the distance; and a required detection distance calculation means for determining the required detection distance of the external recognition means required for the host vehicle to change lanes on the basis of the relative speed.