An apparatus and a method for controlling an autonomous vehicle depending on weather are provided. The apparatus obtains information including at least one of an image around the autonomous vehicle, sensing information of a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) of the autonomous vehicle, sensing information of a rain sensor of the autonomous vehicle, an operation state of a windshield wiper of the autonomous vehicle, climate information through vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, an acceleration of the autonomous vehicle, or wheel sensor information of the autonomous vehicle and determines whether the climate state is an inclement weather state, based on the information including the at least one of the image around the autonomous vehicle, the sensing information of the LIDAR, the sensing information of the rain sensor, the operation state of the windshield wiper, the climate information through the V2X communication, the acceleration, or the wheel sensor information.

A precipitation index estimation apparatus includes a data collection unit and an estimation processing unit. The data collection unit is configured to collect rainfall amount data detected by a rainfall amount sensor in one or more vehicles positioned on a predetermined road link within a predetermined period. The estimation processing unit is configured to estimate a precipitation index indicating an intensity of precipitation on the predetermined road link within the predetermined period, based on the collected rainfall amount data.

Described herein is a sensor for sensing reflective material. The sensor includes a housing with a transparent window and a sensor mount located in the housing and angled away from a housing wall. A radiation emitter is mounted in the sensor mount and emits radiation along an axis through the transparent window which has an amount of the reflective material located thereon. A radiation detector is mounted in the sensor mount and located adjacent the radiation emitter. The radiation detector is located to receive reflected radiation from the reflective material along another axis. The first axis is angled towards the second axis.

A vehicle control system includes a vehicle-mounted imaging section configured to image surroundings of a vehicle, a vehicle-mounted imaging assist section configured to assist so as to increase the clarity of an imaging region of the imaging section, a recognition section configured to recognize surrounding conditions of the vehicle based on an image captured by the imaging section, an automated driving controller configured to execute automated driving in which at least one out of speed control or steering control is controlled automatically based on the surrounding conditions of the vehicle recognized by the recognition section, and an assist controller configured to adjust an operation of the imaging assist section when the automated driving is being implemented by the automated driving controller.

A wiper motor control circuit carries out control in which a driving circuit generates, and supplies to a wiper motor, a voltage that eliminates deviation between a target speed and an actual speed of an output shaft. In a case in which a state in which the deviation between the target speed and the actual speed is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value continues for a predetermined time or more, the wiper motor control circuit carries out control that lowers the target speed and in which the driving circuit generates, and supplies to the wiper motor, a voltage that eliminates deviation between the lowered target speed and the actual speed of the output shaft.

A multifocal rain sensor includes: at least one light emitting unit configured to output light; a first reflective plate corresponding to the at least one light emitting unit and disposed at a position spaced apart from the at least one light emitting unit by a predetermined distance; a glass part reflecting light after the light is reflected by the first reflective plate and forming a sensing region; a second reflective plate re-reflecting the light reflected by the glass part; and a light receiving unit configured to receive the light reflected by the second reflective plate. The second reflective plate includes a multifocal reflective plate having a plurality of focuses based on a vertical height of incident light that varies according to a change in thickness of the glass part.

A rain and temperature sensing module including a housing having a cover plate formed of a transparent material, a printed circuit board disposed within the housing and having a light emitter, a light receiver, and a temperature sensing element disposed thereon, a transparent compound disposed within the housing and covering the light emitter, the light receiver, and the temperature sensing element, the transparent compound filling a space between the printed circuit board and the cover plate, wherein the transparent compound has a refractive index that is substantially equal to a refractive index of the cover plate, and wherein the transparent compound provides a thermally conductive medium between the cover plate and the temperature sensing element.

A wiper drive device includes: a drive member that is configured to cause a wiper blade to wipe a region of a windshield as a wiping operation, the region of the windshield including a to-be-imaged region of the windshield, the to-be-imaged region being included in a field of view of a camera which images a predefined imaging range near a vehicle through the windshield; and a stop section that is configured to stop the wiper blade in an outside region in response to that an anomaly that hinders the wiping operation occurs while the drive member causes the wiper blade to perform the wiping operation on the windshield, the outside region being a region of the windshield outside of the to-be-imaged region.

An optical rain sensor device includes a first light emitting element adapted to emit a first light pulse toward an inner surface of a transparent substrate, a second light emitting element adapted to emit a second light pulse toward the inner surface of the transparent substrate, a photodetector adapted to detect a light from the first light pulse and the second light pulse that is reflected by the inner surface of the transparent substrate, and a rain sensor controller. The rain sensor controller includes a regulated current source adapted to apply a compensation current signal at a terminal of the second light emitting element based on a regulation signal, so that a total current across the second light emitting element is increased or decreased to reduce an imbalance between the first light pulse and the second light pulse.

A method (400) for identifying precipitation (50) includes the steps of: providing (410) a lighting unit (10) having a first photosensor (32), a second photosensor (34), and a controller (22), where the first and second photosensors are vertically spaced by a first distance; receiving (430), by the first photosensor, a first light signal from the precipitation at a first time point (T1); receiving (440) by the second photosensor, a second light signal from the precipitation at a second time point (T2); calculating (450) the amount of time between the first light signal and the second light signal; and calculating (460), based on the first distance and the calculated amount of time between the first light signal and the second light signal, a velocity of the precipitation.