Abstract: A walking robot using simple ground reaction force sensors and a method of controlling the same. It is an aspect of the present invention to provide the walking robot and the method of controlling the same, which reduces development and manufacturing costs of the walking robot and allows non-specialists to easily participate in the development. The walking robot includes a plurality of legs. One or more sensors are mounted on soles of each of the legs to detect whether the soles of each of the legs are in contact with a ground during locomotion. The walking robot performs the locomotion according to a locomotion pattern composed of a plurality of locomotion cycles, and proceeds from a current locomotion cycle to a next locomotion cycle after determining whether the current locomotion cycle is stable using detection results of the sensors.

Abstract: A parking assisting device including an image capturing unit for capturing at least an image behind the vehicle, a monitor for displaying the image obtained by the image capturing unit, a yaw angle detecting unit for detecting a yaw angle of the vehicle, a guiding unit for outputting guidance information to the driver and a controller for comparing a prescribed yaw angle corresponding to a predetermined vehicle position with the yaw angle of the vehicle detected by the yaw angle detecting unit, to identify a current position of the vehicle, and providing guidance information via the guiding unit while displaying at least one of a predicted path and a predicted parking position on the monitor so as to overlap with the image obtained by the image capturing unit to enable the driver to confirm whether the vehicle can be parked in target parking space.

Abstract: A select lever device for an automatic transmission includes: a torque sensor to detect an input torque to a drive shaft of a select lever; a select position sensor to detect the stroke angle of the select lever; a characteristic data storing unit in which a mechanical load characteristic of the select lever is stored; and a control unit to which signals and data of these elements are inputted. Further, the control unit includes an electric motor to output to the select lever assist torque for assisting the operating force by a driver, the assist torque being controlled based on the input torque to the select lever, the stroke angle of the select lever, and the mechanical load characteristic of the select lever.

Abstract: Communication data is relayed to vehicle-mounted terminals in vehicles traveling in a particular area via vehicle-mounted terminals in vehicles. Each of the vehicle-mounted terminals functioning as intermediary terminals relays communication data to vehicle-mounted terminals in vehicles existing in a particular direction only until the communication data reaches the vehicle-mounted terminal in the vehicle closest to the target position, i.e., the center of the particular area. The communication data having reached the vehicle-mounted terminal in the vehicle closest to the target position is relayed to surrounding vehicle-mounted terminals through broadcasting.

Abstract: A tire-generated sound detection sensor detects a tire-generated sound that is generated from a tire while the vehicle is running. A wheel rotation sensor detects a wheel rotation speed. A preprocessor calculates feature quantities corresponding to a road surface state and tire-generated sound sources. A feature vector generator generates a feature vector having, as components, the feature quantities calculated by the preprocessor and the detected wheel rotation speed. A judgment processor estimates a state of a road surface on which the vehicle is running on the basis of the feature vector generated by the feature vector generator and feature vectors that are stored in a judgment map memory so as to be correlated with a plurality of road surface states, respectively, and each of which corresponds to a road surface state and tire-generated sound sources.

Abstract: A system and method of automatically communicating traffic information from a traffic probe vehicle to a traffic information and management system when the probe vehicle is operated within an active traffic information reporting region. Geographic information about a traffic reporting region, or plurality of regions, is stored in the probe vehicle as an array of geographic cells so as to reduce the data storage requirements. The geographic cells have associated with them certain cell parameters related to the cell, such as a recording priority, a recording interval and a reporting interval. The recording priority of a cell may be associated with certain roadway types located within that cell. As a probe vehicle travels within an active traffic information reporting region, its location is established within the traffic information reporting region and a corresponding geographic cell.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided that warns a vehicle of a harsh braking-applied vehicle based on information sent from the harsh braking-applied vehicle. The apparatus includes a reception device, a position detection device, a forward side vehicle judgment device, and a warning device. The reception device receives the information indicating that harsh braking has been applied to the harsh braking-applied vehicle and information indicating a position of the harsh braking-applied vehicle. The position detection device detects a position of the vehicle to be warned, and the forward side vehicle judgment device determines if the harsh braking-applied vehicle is in front of the vehicle to be warned based on the positions of the harsh braking-applied vehicle and the vehicle to be warned. The warning device warns the vehicle to be warned when the harsh braking-applied vehicle is in front of the vehicle to be warned.

Abstract: A passenger detection device for a vehicle is provided with multiple load sensors, each of which detects a load on a seat of the vehicle within a predetermined detection range of the load sensor, and an ECU that determines passenger information of the seat. The ECU has at least one calculation range, each of which limits the detection range of each corresponding one of the multiple load sensors. The ECU determines the passenger information based on a detection data value of each load sensor, which is outputted from the load sensor and falls within the corresponding calculation range of the load sensor.

Abstract: An automotive lane deviation prevention apparatus includes an electronic control unit configured to be electronically connected to a yawing-motion control actuator such as braking force actuators or a steering actuator for lane deviation prevention and vehicle yawing motion control purposes. The control unit has a processor programmed for determining whether or not a host vehicle is traveling on predetermined irregularities formed on or close to either one of a left-hand side lane marking line and a right-hand side lane marking line of a driving lane. The processor is further programmed for executing vehicle yawing motion control by which the host vehicle returns to a central position of the driving lane, when the host vehicle is traveling on the predetermined irregularities.

Abstract: A method and apparatus to control acceleration of a vehicle equipped with an electrically variable transmission and including a regenerative braking system, each are operably connected to a vehicle driveline. The method and apparatus include determining which one of a preselected shift selector position for the transmission is commanded, and determining operator demand for acceleration, using inputs from throttle pedal and brake pedal. Vehicle acceleration is measured, and magnitude of commanded torque transferred from the electrically variable transmission and the regenerative braking system to the vehicle driveline is controlled based upon the commanded preselected shift selector position, the operator demand for acceleration, and the measured vehicle acceleration.

Abstract: An information processing system includes a display device and a information processing apparatus. The display device includes: a first arithmetic processing unit; a display unit at which information is displayed as a bitmap; and an interface unit that can be connected with the external information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes: an interface unit that can be connected with the display device; and a second arithmetic processing unit that executes a specific type of processing. The first arithmetic processing unit controls the display unit so as to display information related to the specific type of processing transmitted from the information processing apparatus and also executes another type of processing related to the specific type of processing based upon an instruction provided by the information processing apparatus.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a steering control apparatus for maintaining operating characteristics which do not change from when conditions are normal and when an impairment occurs. The apparatus includes a plurality of motors for driving a steered wheel and a plurality of ECUs, each associated with one of the motors. When the steering control apparatus is operating normally, a torque command representing torque required to turn the steered wheel is generated. The torque command is divided in accordance with the number of motors. Each of the ECUs control the associated motors in accordance with a corresponding one of the distributed torques.

Abstract: An integrated inertial stellar attitude sensor for an aerospace vehicle includes a star camera system, a gyroscope system, a controller system for synchronously integrating an output of said star camera system and an output of said gyroscope system into a stream of data, and a flight computer responsive to said stream of data for determining from the star camera system output and the gyroscope system output the attitude of the aerospace vehicle.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for controlling a safety-critical railway operating process in which the program necessary for the above is divided into a system software (V,PMS) and a software (BO) specific for railway management. External commands (K) and messages (M), which affect the control, are recorded and transmitted to commercial computers (R1,R2) in which the actual process control runs, by means of the system software running in one or several secure signalling computers (SR*), as defined by the relevant railway operating condition. The processing of the program specific for railway management can occur in two channels, parallel or serially, whereby the monitoring of whether the commercial computers have reached the same result is carried out in the secure signalling computers.

Abstract: A GPS collision avoidance apparatus which uses Global Positioning System (GPS) information and computer processing to determine the location of man made and natural occurring obstacles to allow a user to avoid a collision with these obstacles. The collision avoidance apparatus has a collision decision processor which analyzes position and motion dynamics data including a direction of motion, a velocity and an acceleration for a user utilizing collision avoidance apparatus to determine whether a collision will occur and then to provide protection for the user in the event a collision is likely to occur.

Abstract: A navigation apparatus is provided with: a first storing device for storing original data for a navigation based on a predetermined format and including map data, in such a manner that an empty area exists on the predetermined format in each processing unit for a predetermined kind of navigation processing; a second storing device for storing difference update data representing a data portion for the navigation that is updated with respect to the original data as a standard; and a re-writing device for generating updated data based on the format and including the original data and merge data, by re-writing the merge data at least partially into the empty area corresponding to the merge data. The merge data defines a relationship of the difference update data with respect to the original data. The navigation apparatus is also provided with a processing device performing the navigation processing on the basis of the original data and the difference update data.

Abstract: According to the invention, autonomous carriers or vehicles are efficiently navigated over a field of operation. The carriers are equipped to execute a selected procedure at more than one desired location on the field, and the navigation system of the invention directs the carrier to the location that is preferentially accessible to it, based on a defined criterion. After the carrier has executed the selected procedure at the location which is preferentially accessible to it, the navigation system directs the carrier to the location which is preferentially accessible to the carrier from the carrier's new position. This procedure is repeated until all the locations at which the procedure is to be executed have been reached. The task of determining a navigation route to a location that can be preferentially accessed is based on an efficient, structured search procedure of low computational complexity.

Abstract: An air traffic information display system includes a server having data manager. The data manager includes a first interface connected with a first database server and a plurality of second interfaces connected to a plurality of clients. The data manager includes a subscription list for the plurality of clients for providing the clients with data updates. The subscription list also includes criteria for each client. The data updates are distributed based upon the criteria of each client.

Abstract: A controller for a contact mechanism for preventing a lack of a pressing force applied from a contacting member to a contacted member when determining a control input to an actuator moving the contacting member by a position control. The controller sets a target position of the contacting member, grasps an actual position of the contacting member, determines a control input to the actuator (so as to increase an output of the actuator along with an increase in a difference between the target position and the actual position of the contacting member to eliminate the difference), and detects that the contacting member contacts the contacted member.

Abstract: A deviant position detector that determines whether or not a vehicle deviated from a set route, detects route deviation information such as a route deviated position when a vehicle deviated, and stores it as past route deviation information in a route deviant position memory. A route searching device searches a route to a destination based on information obtained by a position detector and a map information acquiring device, and further searches past route deviation information obtained from the route deviant position memory. A route guidance changing device determines whichever route guidance method is the best based on information obtained by the route searching device and from the route deviant position memory, and instructs a route guidance outputting device to output the best route guidance method.