Hybrid or fully electric vehicle comprising: a conventional braking system based on friction bodies to brake the motor vehicle by interaction of the friction bodies in response to the operation of a brake pedal or any other equivalent control member, a reversible electric machine operatively coupled to the wheels of the vehicle and electronically controllable to operate selectively as an electric engine to generate a mechanical power to propel to the vehicle and as an electric generator to convert the kinetic energy of the motor vehicle into electrical energy, and an automotive electronic control system comprising a sensory system to measure automotive quantities, and an electronic control unit to control operation of the conventional braking system and of the electric machine in response to the operation of the brake pedal or any other operationally equivalent control member. The electronic control unit is further configured to control operation of: the electric machine to selectively perform one or more functions including regenerative braking, in which the electric machine is operated as an electric generator to recover the kinetic energy of the motor vehicle during braking and convert it into electrical energy, and the conventional braking system to clean the friction bodies of the conventional braking system based on the number of brakings performed by the conventional braking system and counted starting from the start-up of the motor vehicle.

A method includes detecting, via a processor of an autonomous vehicle, an upcoming downhill road segment of a route on which the autonomous vehicle is currently travelling. The detection is based on map data, camera data, and/or inertial measurement unit (IMU) data. In response to detecting the upcoming downhill road segment, a descent plan is generated for the autonomous vehicle. The descent plan includes a speed profile and a brake usage plan. The brake usage plan specifies a non-zero amount of retarder usage and an amount of foundation brake usage for a predefined time period. The method also includes autonomously controlling the autonomous vehicle, based on the descent plan, while the autonomous vehicle descends the downhill road segment.

A vehicle control device that autonomously controls a vehicle so as not to cause rapid deceleration that leads to a deterioration in ride quality. The vehicle control device controls first and second deceleration, means that reduce a speed at a deceleration rate large than a deceleration rate of the first deceleration means. The vehicle control device includes a blind spot area detecting unit that detects a blind spot area of a sensor that recognizes an external environment, and a blind spot object estimating unit that estimates a blind spot object that is a virtual moving body hidden in the blind spot area. When a vehicle approaches the blind spot area at a speed reduced by the first deceleration means, the vehicle is decelerated by the second deceleration means when a type of a moving body detected by the sensor is different from a type of the blind spot object.

An electric vehicle control device, an electric vehicle control method, and an electric vehicle control system according to one embodiment of the present invention are configured to: obtain, based on operation information on release of an accelerator pedal of a vehicle and turn information on a turn of the vehicle, change rate information on a temporal change amount of a regenerative braking force with respect to an operation amount of the accelerator pedal; and output a regenerative braking control command for applying the regenerative braking force to a wheel based on the change rate information.

A method for distributing a braking torque requested by a driver over the axles of a motor vehicle. The wheels of the first axle are associated with a first friction brake device and a first electrical machine having a first efficiency and the wheels of the second axle are associated with a second friction brake device and a second electrical machine having a second efficiency, in which, according to the method, the allocation of the requested braking torque over the first and/or second axle and the determination of the components of the recuperation torques to be provided by the first and/or second electrical machine of the requested braking torque is carried out taking into consideration the current driving stability of the motor vehicle.

Described herein are methods and systems for the weight estimation of commercial vehicles and using these estimates to control different vehicle systems such as powertrain, brakes, and suspension. A vehicle comprises a weight estimator, which receives input from different vehicle systems and/or sensors (e.g., suspension, powertrain, speedometer, tire pressure monitoring system) and uses these inputs to determine weight values associated with the vehicle (e.g., total weight, weight distribution per axle, weight distribution per wheel, load distribution). These weight values are then used by the power train, brakes, and/or suspension as additional input for operating these systems besides drivers' input, e.g., provided as pedal positions. For example, different weight values can cause different powertrain outputs for the same accelerator pedal position, e.g., greater output for a heavier vehicle. As such, a driver experiences more uniform vehicle responses for different vehicle loads.

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.

Various embodiments include a method for operating a hybrid drive train for a motor vehicle having an output shaft from an internal combustion engine releasably connected to a shaft of an electric traction machine via a first clutch, wherein the shaft of the electric traction machine is releasably connected to a transmission input shaft via a second clutch. The method may comprise: determining a state parameter for the motor vehicle; and opening either the first clutch or the second clutch for a changeover to coasting operation of the hybrid drive train based on a function of one or more state parameters.

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 method for controlling the cruising speed of a hybrid or electric propulsion vehicle includes detecting a forward travel speed of the vehicle, identifying a downhill forward travel condition of the vehicle, activating a control of the downhill cruising speed following said identification of said downhill forward travel condition, determining a reference speedy for the vehicle and calculating a charging current for the battery pack generated by the electric motor as a function of a deviation between said reference speed and the detected forward travel speed of the vehicle. The step of identifying a downhill forward travel condition of the vehicle includes calculating a parameter representative of said downhill condition as a function of the detected forward travel speed and the motor current.