This invention involves the effect of multiple rules of the road at different elevation profiles on the speed constraints and therefore the overall fuel efficiency. A vehicle designed to optimize fuel consumption that is comprised of the rules of the road that determine maximum speed, minimum speed, stop signs, streetlights, and/or changes in other rules that determine the allowable speeds of the road, a localization mechanism, and an optimization engine to optimize the fuel economy by selecting a speed profile within that maintains the vehicle within the assigned range of speeds and minimizes fuel consumption. A wide variety of methods that typically are used to optimize the fuel efficiency of human drivers operating standard vehicles can also be applied towards autonomous vehicles driving at different speed constraints and with different changes in the elevation.

A method and an apparatus for setting a driving mode of a vehicle are disclosed. The method performed by an in-vehicle apparatus for setting a driving mode includes: determining a state of an occupant, determining a type of road on which the vehicle is traveling, and setting the driving mode of the vehicle based on the state of the occupant and the type of the road.

An occlusion is identified in a vehicle transportation network. A visibility grid is identified on a second side of the occlusion for a vehicle that is on a first side of the occlusion. The visibility grid is identified with respect to a region of interest that is at least a predefined distance above ground. The visibility grid is used to identify first portions of roads sensed by a sensor positioned on the vehicle and second portions of the roads that are not sensed by the sensor. A driving behavior of the vehicle is altered based on the visibility grid.

A system for regulating the speed of a vehicle includes defining a first border for a first geographic region. The border has a first speed within the border and a second speed outside of the border. The system includes determining a first velocity of the vehicle including a vehicle speed and direction of the vehicle approaching the border. The difference between the vehicle speed and the second speed is the calculated, as is a distance between the vehicle and the border. If the difference between the vehicle speed and the second speed divided by the distance is greater than a predetermined value, the vehicle is decelerated at a rate so that the vehicle will have a second speed when the vehicle reaches the border.

A sensor assembly can include a housing that includes a view pane and a mounting feature configured to replace a trailer light of a cargo trailer of a semi-trailer truck. The sensor assembly can also include a lighting element mounted within the housing to selectively generate light, and a sensor mounted within the housing and having a field of view through the view pane. The sensor assembly can also include a communication interface configured to transmit sensor data from the sensor to a control system of the self-driving tractor.

A method for determining a speed profile to be followed by a vehicle, including acquiring event data including a distance from an event and a target speed at this event for the vehicle, and determining a speed profile to be followed as a function of time, between an initial speed and the target speed in three successive distinct phases, respectively a first phase in which the jerk is set constant at a predetermined maximum jerk value to reach an optimal target acceleration value, a second phase in which the optimal target acceleration value is kept constant, and a third phase in which the jerk is again set constant to reach a zero acceleration value at the end of the third phase. The optimal target acceleration value is such that the distance required to carry out the three phases of the profile is equal to the distance from the event.

A driving support apparatus includes a feedback control system. The feedback control system calculates each operation amount of a brake actuator and a drive actuator so as to match an actual value of a control amount indicating a motion state of the vehicle to a target value. The target value of the control amount is set so as to stop the vehicle to a target stop position. The driving support apparatus sets, when remaining distance from a current position of the vehicle to the target stop position is first distance, a feedback gain of the feedback control system to large value, as compared with the feedback gain set when the remaining distance is second distance which is greater than the first distance.

A vehicle control method of an autonomous vehicle for a right and left turn at a crossroad includes: determining whether a second vehicle intends to change a lane while passing a front or a rear of a first vehicle in order to move to a target lane for the right and left turn at the crossroad; controlling the first vehicle to decelerate when it is determined that the second vehicle intends to change the lane while passing the front of the first vehicle; determining whether the second vehicle is entering the first lane toward the front or the rear of the first vehicle; calculating a steering amount of the second vehicle when it is determined that the second vehicle is entering the first lane toward the front of the first vehicle; and controlling the first vehicle to decelerate according to the steering amount.

A proactive pedal algorithm is used to modify an accelerator pedal map to ensure the deceleration when the accelerator pedal is released matches driver expectation. Modifying the accelerator pedal map provides the driver of a vehicle the sensation that the vehicle resists moving when travelling in dense scenes with potentially high deceleration requirements and coasts easily in scenes with low deceleration requirements. The accelerator pedal map is modified based on a scene determination to classify other remote vehicles as in-lane, neighbor-lane, or on-coming.

The present invention obtains a controller and a control method capable of appropriately assisting with driving by a rider.

In the controller and the control method according to the present invention, an acquisition section of a controller (60) acquires yaw rate information of a traveling straddle-type vehicle (100), and in a control mode in which behavior control operation to make the straddle-type vehicle (100) automatically decelerate or automatically accelerate is performed, an execution section of the controller (60) changes the behavior control operation according to the yaw rate information.