A system and method for adjusting a drivetrain comprising an e-axle on a vehicle comprises accessing route data and compressing the route data into a plurality of linearized segments. Each segment is determined by analyzing points along the route to determine when a set of route data points indicates an uphill, downhill, or flat segment. Using the segments, drivetrain configuration information for a vehicle and a weight of the vehicle, embodiments determine a performance plan that is tailored to the vehicle, including raising the e-axle to reduce rolling resistance on some segments and lowering the e-axle for some segments for increased power for acceleration, improved braking, or increased regenerative capabilities.

A vehicle that includes: a towing axle connected to a heat engine; a directional axle; and a complementary axle that is neither directional nor motor-driven. When the vehicle is hybridized according to the method of the invention, the wheels of the complementary axle are removed and replaced by in-wheel motors, each connected with an inverter specifically dedicated for supplying electrical power thereto from an electrical power battery. A control housing is also provided, that has built-in acceleration control devices connected to the accelerator pedal, and built-in deceleration control devices connected to the brake pedal, so as to control and monitor all the mechanisms needed for the driver to transparently accelerate and decelerate the vehicle.

A through the road (TTR) hybridization strategy is proposed to facilitate introduction of hybrid electric vehicle technology in a significant portion of current and expected trucking fleets. In some cases, the technologies can be retrofitted onto an existing vehicle (e.g., a trailer, a tractor-trailer configuration, etc.). In some cases, the technologies can be built into new vehicles. In some cases, one vehicle may be built or retrofitted to operate in tandem with another and provide the hybridization benefits contemplated herein. By supplementing motive forces delivered through a primary drivetrain and fuel-fed engine with supplemental torque delivered at one or more electrically-powered drive axles, improvements in overall fuel efficiency and performance may be delivered, typically without significant redesign of existing components and systems that have been proven in the trucking industry.

Through-the-road (TTR) hybrid designs using control strategies such as an equivalent consumption minimization strategy (ECMS) or an adaptive ECMS are implemented at the supplemental torque delivering electrically-powered drive axle (or axles) in a manner that follows operational parameters or computationally estimates states of the primary drivetrain and/or fuel-fed engine, but does not itself participate in control of the fuel-fed engine or primary drivetrain. BSFC type data particular to the paired-with fuel-fed engine allows an ECMS implementation (or other similar control strategy) to adapt to efficiency curves for the particular fuel-fed engine and to improve overall efficiencies of the TTR hybrid configuration.

A vehicle driveline including a first axle assembly having a first drive ratio. A second axle assembly in selective driving engagement with the first axle assembly, the first and second axle assemblies having a second drive ratio when in driving engagement. A control system in electrical communication with the first and second axle assemblies, wherein the control system selectively engages the second axle assembly with the first axle assembly.

A transmission includes an input shaft coupled to a prime mover, a countershaft, main shaft, and an output shaft, with gears between the countershaft and the main shaft. A shift actuator selectively couples the input shaft to the main shaft by rotatably coupling gears between the countershaft and the main shaft. The shift actuator is mounted on an exterior wall of a housing including the countershaft and the main shaft. An integrated actuator housing includes a single external power access for the shift actuator. A controller interprets controls the shift actuator with actuating and opposing pulses, and interprets a shaft displacement angle, determines if the transmission is in an imminent zero or zero torque region, and performs a transmission operation in response to the transmission in the imminent zero or zero torque region.

Techniques are disclosed for performing hybrid simulation operations with an autonomous vehicle. A method of testing autonomous vehicle operations includes receiving, by a computer, a pre-configured scenario that includes one or more simulation parameters and one or more initial condition parameters, sending, to the autonomous vehicle and based on the one or more initial condition parameters, control signals that instruct the autonomous vehicle to operate at an operative condition, and in response to determining that the autonomous vehicle is operating at the operative condition, performing a simulation with the one or more simulated objects and the autonomous vehicle to test a response of the autonomous vehicle.

The present invention relates to a method for having a vehicle (100) follow a desired curvature path (C1), said vehicle (100) comprising at least one differential (10, 20, 30) with a differential lock connected to at least one driven wheel axle (40, 50) of said vehicle (100), said method comprising at least the following steps: —providing (S1) information regarding state of said differential lock, said state being either that said differential lock is activated or unlocked, and when said differential lock is activated: —calculating (S2) a yaw moment, M.sub.diff, of said vehicle (100), caused by said differential lock; and —compensating (S3) for a deviation from said desired curvature path (C1) caused by said yaw moment, M.sub.diff, such that a resulting steering angle is equal to or less than a maximum allowed steering angle of said vehicle (100), whereby said compensation is a feed forward compensation. The invention also relates to a control unit, a vehicle, a computer program and a computer readable medium.

In various examples, systems and methods are disclosed for generating and/or analyzing candidate paths for a multi-body vehicle—e.g., a tractor trailer truck—based on obstacle avoidance considerations and using an uncertainty representation for the vehicle. The uncertainty representation may correspond to a trailer portion of the multi-body vehicle to account for the variations in rotation of the trailer with respect to the tractor. As such, the uncertainty representation may be indicative of a probability that the trailer of the vehicle occupies locations and/or points in world space. This probability—combined with the probability of locations of actors in the environment—may be used to generate candidate paths that satisfy various constraints—e.g., a minimum stochastic distance—between the vehicle and the actor.

The technology relates to articulated autonomous vehicles that can potentially jackknife. To avoid or mitigate such hazardous conditions, the current state of the vehicle is evaluated against the vehicle's planned trajectory, for instance as it drives along a freeway or surface streets. When the evaluation indicates a likelihood of jackknifing, an automated braking approach is implemented using elective braking to stabilize the vehicle. The braking approach can depend on whether the situation involves tractor jackknifing or trailer jackknifing, and one or more different braking mechanisms can be employed for a selective modulation of the braking profile to address actual jackknifing or to prevent the vehicle from entering a jackknifing situation.