In a steering system including a steering operation mechanism, a second actuator, a steering angle sensor, a steering torque sensor, and a steering operation control device and a control method for the steering system, only a drive assist target steered angle (first target steered angle) is reflected in a final target steered angle when a torque sensor value (actual steering torque) detected by the steering torque sensor is equal to or less than an intervention threshold. When the magnitude of the torque sensor value is more than the intervention threshold, the rate of reflection (distribution ratio) of a driver target steered angle (second target steered angle) in the final target steered angle is raised as the torque sensor value is increased, and the rate of reflection of the driver target steered angle in the final target steered angle is lowered as the magnitude of the torque sensor value is decreased.

When a collision avoidance steering control start condition becomes satisfied, a driving support ECU starts a steering control to avoid a collision with a frontward vehicle. The ECU prohibits the steering control when an indicated direction by turn indications of the frontward vehicle is the same as a planned direction of the steering control. The ECU sets the start condition to a first start condition, when the turn indicators of the frontward vehicle are not indicating a turning direction. The ECU sets the start condition to a second start condition, when the indicated direction is different from the planned direction. The first and second start conditions have been set such that an inter-vehicular distance between the host vehicle and the frontward vehicle of when the second start condition can be satisfied is shorter than one of when the first start condition can be satisfied.

A trailer flank object contact avoidance system for a vehicle towing a trailer includes a sensor system configured to detect objects in an operating environment of the vehicle and a controller. The controller processes information received from the sensor system to monitor a relative position of at least one object with respect to the vehicle during driving and determines an instantaneous path of the trailer based on a vehicle steering angle and whether the instantaneous path of the trailer would bring the trailer into contact with the at least one object. The controller issues a coaching notification to the driver that reverse driving is required to prevent contact between the trailer and the vehicle when a corrective steering angle cannot prevent contact of the trailer with the at least one object during forward driving.

A method includes receiving, by a computing system of a vehicle, a planned trajectory for the vehicle based on first sensor data associated with an external environment. The planned trajectory is generated by a primary computing system associated with a first sensor. The method further includes determining an environmental condition associated with the external environment. The environmental condition is included in second sensor data generated by a second sensor. The method further includes analyzing one or more parameters associated with the planned trajectory to determine whether the planned trajectory is based on the environmental condition, and, in response to determining that the primary computing system fails to base the planned trajectory upon the environmental condition, altering the one or more parameters associated with the planned trajectory to generate an altered planned trajectory. The method thus includes instructing the vehicle to execute the altered planned trajectory.

Disclosed is a vehicle traveling controller that performs emergency evacuation traveling in the case of an emergency for proper traveling control. The vehicle traveling controller determines whether the vehicle traveling in accordance with a normal traveling rule is not dangerous and becomes proper traveling or not on the basis of environmental information around a vehicle (S18), when it is determined that the vehicle traveling in accordance with the normal traveling rule becomes proper traveling, executes normal traveling control for instructing the vehicle to travel in accordance with the normal traveling rule (S20), and when vehicle traveling in accordance with the normal traveling rule does not become proper traveling, executes emergency evacuation traveling control for instructing the vehicle to perform emergency evacuation traveling which is not in accordance with the normal traveling rule (S22). Therefore, emergency evacuation traveling with high safety can be performed, as compared with vehicle traveling in accordance with the normal traveling rule, so the safety of vehicle traveling can be improved.

A system for creating a driving route of a vehicle includes: a vehicle selecting device to select a surrounding vehicle that is adjacent to a host vehicle; an intention determining device to determine an intention of the surrounding vehicle by using information including a location and a speed of the surrounding vehicle; a driving route predicting device to predict a driving route of the surrounding vehicle based on the determined intention of the surrounding vehicle; a map creating device to create a map by using the predicted driving route of the surrounding vehicle; and a driving route creating device to create a driving route of the host vehicle.

A vehicle hitching assistance system including a controller determining a trailer target area to a rear of the vehicle. The trailer target area is positioned within left and right lateral vehicle steering limits, defined in a lateral direction between left and right boundaries respectively spaced inwardly of the left and right lateral vehicle steering limits by one of a system perception factor or a vehicle geometry factor, and defined in a longitudinal direction between a minimum movement limit and a maximum perception limit. The controller further identifies a trailer coupler within the trailer target area and outputs a steering signal to the vehicle to cause the vehicle to steer to align a hitch ball of the vehicle with the coupler during movement of the vehicle.

There is provided a traveling control device capable of appropriately performing collision avoidance by using not only a region inside a lane of an own vehicle but also a region outside the lane of the own vehicle. A traveling control device includes an acceleration calculation unit which obtains an acceleration of a target object from information of an outside recognition sensor, a behavior estimation unit which estimates a behavior of the target object from the acceleration, a TTC calculation unit which obtains a time to collision from the information of the outside recognition sensor, a determination unit which determines a risk region based on outputs of the TTC calculation unit and the behavior estimation unit, and a collision avoidance operation control unit which controls a collision avoidance operation for the target object based on a result of the determination unit.

A method for preparing and/or performing a steering intervention. The method includes detecting a traffic-influencing object and continuously recording object information, determining whether the object is tangential to a current trajectory of the vehicle, monitoring a lateral distance to the object or a predicted time available until a countersteering intervention is necessary before the object is reached. The method additionally includes checking whether the driver performs a countersteering intervention, for the case that the lateral distance or the available time falls below a first threshold value, of pilot controlling at least one actuator that influences the trajectory, so that a steering pretorque is applied if no steering intervention is performed by the driver, and triggering the steering actuator, so that a steering torque is applied to the steering, if the lateral distance or the available time additionally falls below a second threshold value.

A vehicle control apparatus is provided with: an executor configured to perform an automatic steering control of steering a vehicle so as to go away from an avoidance target object; a determinator configured to determine, during execution of the automatic steering control targeting a first object, whether or not a second object is detected; and a comparator configured to compare a first interval, which is an interval between the vehicle and the first object, with a second interval, which is an interval between the vehicle and the second object. The executor is configured to change the offset amount to an offset amount corresponding to the second object if the second interval is narrower than the first interval, and to maintain the offset amount at an offset amount corresponding to the first object if the second interval is wider than the first interval.