Aspects of the present disclosure relate switching between autonomous and manual driving modes. In order to do so, the vehicle's computer may conduct a series of environmental, system, and driver checks to identify certain conditions. The computer may correct some of these conditions and also provide a driver with a checklist of tasks for completion. Once the tasks have been completed and the conditions are changed, the computer may allow the driver to switch from the manual to the autonomous driving mode. The computer may also make a determination, under certain conditions, that it would be detrimental to the driver's safety or comfort to make a switch from the autonomous driving mode to the manual driving mode.

Engaging and disengaging for autonomous driving

A vehicle control system which can ensure high reliability, real-time processing, and expandability with a simplified ECU configuration and a low cost by backing up an error through coordination in the entire system without increasing a degree of redundancy of individual controllers beyond the least necessary level. The vehicle control system comprises a sensor controller for taking in sensor signals indicating a status variable of a vehicle and an operation amount applied from a driver, a command controller for generating a control target value based on the sensor signals taken in by the sensor controller, and an actuator controller for receiving the control target value from the command controller and operating an actuator to control the vehicle, those three controller being interconnected via a network. The actuator controller includes a control target value generating unit for generating a control target value based on the sensor signals taken in by the sensor controller and received by the actuator controller via the network when the control target value generated by the command controller is abnormal, and controls the actuator in accordance with the control target value generated by the control target value generating unit.

Vehicle Control System

The vehicle collision warning system (CWS) is an important research and application subject for vehicle safety. Most of this topic's research focuses on autonomous CWSs, where each vehicle detects potential collisions based entirely on the information measured by itself. Recently, an alternative scenario has arisen. This scenario is known as cooperative driving, where either the vehicle or the infrastructure can communicate its location, intention, or other information to surrounding vehicles or nearby infrastructure. Since installing a low-cost global-positioning-system (GPS) unit is becoming a common practice in vehicle applications, its implications in cooperative driving and vehicle safety deserve closer investigation. Furthermore, the future trajectory prediction may lead to a straightforward approach to detect potential collisions, yet its effectiveness has not been studied. This paper explores the engineering feasibility of a future-trajectory-prediction-based cooperative CWS when vehicles are equipped with a relatively simple differential GPS unit and relatively basic motion sensors. The goals of this paper are twofold: providing an engineering argument of possible functional architectures of such systems and presenting a plausible example of the proposed future-trajectory-based design, which estimates and communicates vehicle positions and predicts and processes future trajectories for collision decision making. In this paper, common GPS problems such as blockage and multipath, as well as common communication problems such as dropout and delays, are assumed. However, specific choices of GPS devices and communication protocol or systems are not the focus of this paper

DGPS-Based Vehicle-to-Vehicle Cooperative Collision Warning: Engineering Feasibility Viewpoints

A supplemental control system for a materials handling vehicle comprises a wearable control device, and a corresponding receiver on the materials handling vehicle. The wearable control device is donned by an operator interacting with the materials handling vehicle, and comprises a wireless transmitter and a travel control communicably coupled to the wireless transmitter. Actuation of the travel control causes the wireless transmitter to transmit a first type signal designating a request to advance the vehicle in a first direction. The receiver is supported by the vehicle for receiving transmissions from the wireless transmitter. A traction control of the vehicle is responsive to a receipt of the first type signal by the receiver to cause the vehicle to advance.

Systems and methods of remotely controlling a materials handling vehicle

A method, system, and device are presented for customizing vehicles for drivers using a vehicle-operator profile. The vehicle-operator profile contains adjustable-vehicle-related parameters related to one or more adjustable devices, such as power seats, power mirrors and entertainment devices, in a vehicle. The adjustable-vehicle-related parameters may be determined by data entry, by simulation of the vehicle, and/or by data processing, including processing ergonomic data for the driver. The adjustable-vehicle-related parameters may be stored on a profile-storage device and may be downloaded to the adjustable devices via a vehicle-setting-storage device. The adjustable devices may change based on the adjustable-vehicle-related parameters. If the adjustable devices are adjusted, the adjustable-vehicle-related parameters in the vehicle-operator profile may be updated to reflect the adjustments to the adjustable devices.

Method, system, and apparatus of vehicle and fleet operator profile automation and deployment

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a driving support of further high level even in a complicated traffic environment such as an intersection or T-shaped intersection. SOLUTION: The traveling state of an own vehicle is detected (steps S1 and S2), and forward obstacle data detected by an obstacle sensor 3, approaching vehicle information acquired from infrastructure facilities arranged in a traveling road by a road-to-vehicle radio device 4, traveling information of vehicles in a vehicle-to-vehicle communication destination, acquired by a vehicle-to-vehicle radio device 5, and the like are read (steps S3 to S5). With respect each detection means of the obstacle sensor 3, the road-to-vehicle radio 4 and the vehicle-to-vehicle radio 5, the sum of a multi-level showing the number of detection means in detection of the same object by different detection means and the reliability set to the detection means which is detecting an object is determined, and a total reliability is determined based on the resulting reliability (step S6). As higher reliability is predicted from the total reliability, driving support of higher level is performed. COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Information providing device for vehicle

A braking control device performs a steering and/or avoidance possibility determination based on the state of the vehicle to execute automatic vehicle braking when an obstacle in front of the vehicle cannot be avoided by steering and/or braking. The device determines that the obstacle can be avoided by steering when the correlation value between steering avoidance time and relative velocity is smaller than the distance from the vehicle to the obstacle. The steering avoidance time is set to a shorter value when the suspension characteristic is stiffer and the sideways force generated by the front wheels is larger. The steering avoidance time is set successively shorter for low, high, and medium speed travel regions, respectively, to reflect the behavior response characteristic of the vehicle with respect to steering input. The vehicle deceleration that would occur if the driver released the accelerator pedal is considered in the braking avoidance possibility determination.

Braking control device

An automatic brake system for a vehicle is disclosed. Based on a possibility that a potential collision with an obstacle preceding the vehicle can avoided by braking, and a possibility that the potential collision can be avoided by steering, the system automatically controls a braking operation for collision-avoidance. A condition of starting the automatic braking operation and a characteristics of the operation are determined based on calculation or estimation of a condition of the path where the vehicle is traveling, such as a relative speed, widths of spaces on sides of the obstacle, and steering characteristics.

Automatic brake system for a vehicle

When it is judged that a possible collision of the own vehicle with a preceding vehicle is avoidable by operation of either one of the brake pedal and steering wheel, a first grade braking force is automatically produced. While, when it is judged that the possible collision is unavoidable by operation of either of the brake pedal and steering wheel, a second grade braking force is automatically produced, which is greater than the first grade braking force.

Automatic brake system of motor vehicle

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimize the timing of performing the braking control for avoiding a contact with an obstacle executed based on the possibility of avoiding the contact by braking and the possibility of avoiding the contact by steering. SOLUTION: This braking control system for a vehicle comprises a steering property selecting section 15 for detecting a steering property, a steering avoidance determining section 18 for determining whether or not the contact with an obstacle in front of the vehicle is avoidable by steering toward the side thereof based on the steering property selected by the steering property selecting section 15, a braking avoidance determining section 12 for determining whether or not the contact with the obstacle in front of the vehicle is avoidable by braking, and an automatic braking control determining section 19 for performing the brake control to avoid the contact with the obstacle based on a determination result of the steering avoidance determining section 18 and a determination result of the braking avoidance determining section 12. COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Minoru Tamura

Papers

Information providing device for vehicle

Braking control device

Automatic brake system for a vehicle

Automatic brake system of motor vehicle

Braking control system for vehicle