JPWO2022063859A5 - - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to controlling vehicle distances , particularly but not exclusively, when a vehicle is at or below a threshold speed (e.g., stationary) in an autonomous, automated, or assisted driving mode.

When following other road users at low speeds during assisted, automated or autonomous driving, the distance the vehicle leaves behind other road users when stationary, i.e. the "stop gap", can be determined by the vehicle.

The most appropriate distance to leave behind other road users when the vehicle is stopped depends on many factors, both objective and subjective. While a "stop gap" can be preset to work in most scenarios, in the remaining scenarios the vehicle driver will often want to keep a smaller distance to other road users.

The object of the present invention is to address one or more shortcomings associated with the prior art.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for a host vehicle operable in an autonomous driving mode, the control system including one or more controllers, the control system comprising:
receiving a following distance to be implemented in an automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold, the following distance selected by a driver via a first human-machine interface;
storing the received distances ;
receiving driver intervention from a second human machine interface to modify the received following distance ; and updating the stored following distance in response to the driver intervention from the second human machine interface if vehicle speed subsequently falls below the threshold and the host vehicle is capable of operating in the automatic mode.

In this disclosure, the term "autonomous driving" is used as a general term to encompass and include terms such as "assisted," "self-driving," and "autonomous." No distinction is made between these terms unless specifically required by context.

An advantage is an improved user interface for controlling vehicle distances (e.g., stop gaps) in traffic jams, since the driver can set a first default stop gap using a first HMI (e.g., touch screen) and a customized stop gap using a second HMI (e.g., accelerator pedal), for example, if the jam conditions call for a slightly reduced gap to the vehicle ahead.

In some instances, the threshold is a low vehicle threshold.

In some examples, the following distance selected by the first human-machine interface is selectable from a plurality of selectable following distances;
the control system is configured to allow a difference in distance between the plurality of selectable values to be adjusted by driver intervention from the second human-machine interface;
The difference between them is a value in the range of 0.25 m to 1 m .

In some examples, the control system is configured to allow the updated following distance to be less than a minimum following distance selectable from the first human-machine interface.

In some examples, the control system is configured to determine whether the revised following distance is below a minimum following distance , and if the revised following distance is above the minimum following distance , the revised following distance becomes the updated following distance , and if the revised following distance is below the minimum following distance , the minimum following distance becomes the updated following distance . In some examples, the minimum following distance is a value between 1 meter and 4 meters.

In some examples, the automatic mode is an adaptive cruise control mode.

In some examples, if the vehicle speed exceeds a threshold, the control system is configured to dynamically control the following distance depending on the vehicle speed .

In some examples, the threshold is a first threshold and the control system is configured to restore the vehicle distance selected from the first human machine interface if the vehicle speed exceeds a second threshold that is greater than the first threshold and the vehicle speed subsequently falls below the first threshold. In some examples, the second threshold is a value between 15 km/h and 40 km/h.

In some examples, the second threshold is configured to be less than a minimum configurable vehicle speed target for the automatic mode.

In some examples, the control system
detecting a driver's braking operation or activation of a function that inhibits the automatic mode by the driver ;
inhibiting an automatic mode in response to said brake operation or said actuation ;
When the automatic mode is subsequently activated, the vehicle distance is reverted to that selected from the first human-machine interface.

In some examples, the second human machine interface is configured to request a drive torque when actuated. In some examples, the second human machine interface comprises an accelerator. In some examples, the first human machine interface is a digitally operated interface.

In some examples, updating the stored following distance includes measuring the following distance after driver intervention and detection that the vehicle is stopped .

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for a host vehicle operable in an automatic mode, the control system including one or more controllers, the control system comprising:
maintain a preselected following distance when the host vehicle's speed falls below a threshold;
The vehicle is configured to detect, in response to driver input, a modification of the following distance due to movement of the host vehicle when the speed of the host vehicle falls below a threshold, and to store the modified following distance for execution the next time the speed of the host vehicle falls below the threshold .

The correction may include decreasing the following distance .

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for a host vehicle operable in an automatic mode, the control system including one or more controllers, the control system comprising:
storing a first following distance to be implemented in an automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a first threshold;
receiving driver intervention to correct following distance ;
updating the stored first following distance dependent on the received driver intervention;
storing the updated following distance to be implemented when the vehicle speed subsequently falls below the first threshold without exceeding the second threshold;
If the vehicle speed drops below the first threshold after exceeding the second threshold, the first vehicle distance is restored.

The advantage is an improved user interface for controlling distances (such as stop gaps) during traffic jams, since different stop gaps are appropriate for different traffic jams, and thus when the vehicle leaves the traffic jam according to the second threshold, the vehicle automatically reverts from the second (customized) stop gap to the first (default) stop gap for the next traffic jam.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a vehicle including a control system is provided.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a host vehicle operable in an automatic mode, the method comprising:
receiving a driver's selection from the first human machine interface for a following distance to be implemented in the automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold;
storing a following distance for operation in automatic mode when the vehicle speed is below a threshold;
receiving driver intervention from a second human-machine interface when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold to correct the following distance ; and updating the stored following distance depending on the received driver intervention, which is performed when the vehicle speed falls below the threshold and the host vehicle is capable of operating in an automatic mode.

Receiving a driver intervention from the second human machine interface may include determining that the vehicle has moved to a revised following distance , for example by the driver operating an accelerator pedal.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of controlling a host vehicle operable in an automatic mode, the method comprising:
storing a first distance that is implemented in the automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a first threshold;
receiving driver intervention to correct following distance ;
updating the stored first following distance dependent on the received driver intervention;
storing the updated following distance , to be performed when the vehicle speed falls below the first threshold without exceeding the second threshold; and restoring the first following distance when the vehicle speed exceeds the second threshold and then falls below the first threshold.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a host vehicle operating in an automatic mode, the method comprising: maintaining a preselected following distance when a speed of the host vehicle falls below a threshold;
Detecting a modification of the following distance due to movement of the host vehicle in response to driver input when the host vehicle speed falls below a threshold; and storing the modified following distance for implementation the next time the vehicle speed falls below the threshold and the vehicle is in an autonomous mode.

Detecting a change in following distance may include determining that the vehicle has moved from a preselected following distance , for example, due to actuation of an accelerator pedal by the driver. The correction may include a decrease in following distance .

According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided computer software arranged to perform, when executed, any one or more of the methods described herein. According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising computer readable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the execution of any one or more of the methods described herein.

The one or more controllers may collectively include at least one electronic processor having an electrical input for receiving information and at least one electronic memory device electrically coupled to the at least one electronic processor and having instructions stored therein, the at least one electronic processor configured to access and execute instructions on the at least one memory device to cause the control system to perform a method.

Within the scope of this application, it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives described in the preceding paragraphs, claims and/or the following description and drawings, in particular their individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and/or features of any embodiment may be combined in any manner and/or combination, except where such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to modify the originally filed claims accordingly or to file new claims, including the right to amend the originally filed claims to rely on and/or incorporate features of other claims not originally claimed as such.

One or more embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of vehicles and the distances between the vehicles . FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a host vehicle 100 in which embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. The host vehicle 100 is stopped behind a road user 200 (e.g. another, leading vehicle).

In some, but not necessarily all, examples, the host vehicle 100 is a passenger vehicle, also referred to as a passenger car or automobile. In other examples, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in other applications, such as commercial vehicles.

The host vehicle 100 is capable of operating in an automatic mode. In some, but not necessarily all, examples, the automatic mode is an adaptive cruise control (ACC) mode.

ACC is a version of cruise control that adapts to the speed of the road user 200. Like a normal cruise control, ACC controls the speed of the host vehicle 100 to match a speed target. The driver can set the speed target to match the current speed and can then release the accelerator as the vehicle speed is automatically controlled to maintain the speed target. The driver can change the speed target during ACC, for example with a digit (finger) control.

As used herein, the term "automatic" refers to functionality that can operate without user intervention.

In some examples, if the host vehicle 100 is traffic sign speed limit recognition capable (camera and processor equipped), the speed target will automatically adapt based on traffic sign recognition.

ACC ensures that when the host vehicle 100 is approaching a leading road user 200 and the road user 200 is traveling at a speed slower than the speed target, the host vehicle 100 automatically slows down to follow the road user 200.

When following, the ACC may control the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) distance with the followed road user 200 to maintain a target V2V distance or not fall below a minimum V2V distance . If the other road user 200 speeds up again, the host vehicle 100 will automatically speed up until it reaches the speed target.

If followed, the target V2V distance may be preset or user configurable, and may be treated as a time or speed dependent distance , ensuring that the V2V distance increases as vehicle speed increases.

In at least some examples, ACC works in stopped traffic and can be referred to as "ACC with stop -and- go." When the road user 200 stops, the host vehicle 100 stops behind the road user 200 at a certain V2V distance , labeled "V2V Stop " in FIG. 1. This is referred to as the "stop gap" in the following description to indicate the V2V distance when the host vehicle 100 is detectably stopped.

The target stop gap differs from the target V2V distance in several ways: The target stop gap can be treated as a distance target that is independent of vehicle speed since the host vehicle 100 is not moving; The target stop gap may be user configurable apart from the target V2V distance ; this is useful when the driver wants the ACC to follow from a long distance but does not want to leave an excessive gap when stopping in traffic.

The ACC may switch from the target V2V distance to a target stop gap with a blend between the two targets if the vehicle is detected to be stopped according to a speed sensor ( not shown) and/or the ACC's zero target speed.

In this disclosure, ACC with stop-and-go does not require a driver resume input (e.g., accelerator pedal input or other driver input) to allow the host vehicle 100 to move again after being stopped. In some examples, ACC with stop-and-go may require reactivation of the driver resume input if the host vehicle 100 is stopped for more than a threshold time, such as 30 seconds.

Unlike traffic jam assist, the ACC disclosed herein allows for the selection of a high vehicle speed target (e.g., 60 km/h or higher).

In ACC, the driver can remain responsible for steering inputs and ACC monitoring. In ACC, the driver may be able to manually control the host vehicle 100 longitudinally without disengaging ACC. A temporary manual increase in vehicle speed above the speed target can temporarily override compliance with the speed target and/or compliance with a specific V2V distance .

2, the ACC function is controlled by a control system 300. The illustrated control system 300 is configured to control the output torque of a torque source 310 for controlling vehicle speed and position in dependence on a signal from at least one distance measurement sensor 312. The torque source 310 comprises, for example, an internal combustion engine and/or an electric machine. The distance measurement sensor 312 comprises, for example, a forward-facing radar sensor or a camera and provides distance-dependent information indicative of the V2V distance from a road user 200 in the same lane as the host vehicle 100.

In some examples, the control system 300 can control the vehicle braking system 311 depending on the signal from the distance measurement sensor 312. The vehicle braking system 311 can consist of, for example, a friction braking system and/or a regenerative braking system. Thus, the host vehicle 100 can speed up or slow down with traffic.

The control system 300 of FIG. 2 includes a controller 301. In other examples, the control system 300 includes multiple controllers on-board and/or off-board the host vehicle 100. In some examples, the control system 300 or controller 301 may be supplied with one or more of the other components 310, 311, 312, 314, 316 shown in FIG. 2 as part of the system 3.

2 includes at least one processor 304 and at least one memory device 306 electrically coupled to the electronic processor 304 and having instructions 308 (e.g., a computer program) stored thereon. The at least one memory device 306 and instructions 308, together with the at least one processor 304, are configured to cause the processor 304 to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. The processor 304 may have an interface 302, such as an electrical input/output I/O or electrical input, for receiving information and interacting with external components.

Figure 3 shows a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 400 containing instructions 308 (computer software).

According to some, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the present invention, the control system 300 further allows the driver to select a target stop gap using one human machine interface (HMI) and then perform fine adjustments using a different HMI (e.g., accelerator pedal) that is stored within the same jam/queue.

The first human machine interface (HMI1 314) allows the driver to select a target stop gap. HMI1 314 may consist of a digitally operated interface such as a touch screen user interface element, a button, a switch, or a dial. HMI1 314 may be a dedicated "target stop gap control" interface.

HMI1 314 provides multiple selectable values for the target stop gap. The selectable values may include at least three values x1, x2, x3, such as near-mid-far, as shown in FIG. 1. At least some of the values fall within the range of 4 meters to 6 meters. All values may be less than 10 meters. All values may be greater than 3 meters.

The selectable values have large intervals for convenience, but this may not suit all drivers or traffic congestion situations. Typical intervals range from 0.25 meters to 1 meter.

By way of example, selectable values include approximately 4 meters, approximately 4.5 meters, and approximately 5.2 meters, with intervals between them of 0.5 meters and 0.7 meters, respectively.

A second human machine interface (HMI2 316) allows the driver to manually override the previously selected target stop gap. In this embodiment, HMI2 316 is configured with an accelerator (e.g., accelerator pedal). HMI2 316 may allow the target stop gap to be precisely controlled to a value between the multiple selectable values. In other words, HMI2 316 allows the target stop gap to be controlled with finer spatial granularity than HMI1 314. In some examples, HMI2 316 allows the target stop gap to be controlled in a substantially continuous manner, rather than as a series of discrete intervals as allowed by HMI1 314.

The accelerator pedal 316 is configured to request drive torque when actuated whereas HMI1 314 does not. This allows the driver to advance the host vehicle 100 to a desired stop gap that defines a new target stop gap. The driver can first select target stop gap x2 and then manually creep forward to stop gap xmod as shown in FIG. 1.

The stop gap xmod can then be reused when the host vehicle 100 stops in the jam. In some instances, the new target stop gap may be forgotten/discarded when the host vehicle 100 exits the current jam, since drivers typically prefer different stop gaps for different types of jams. For example, the ideal stop gap in a jam on a highway or freeway may be different from the ideal stop gap when approaching a city street, an interchange, or a lane merge.

The use of the accelerator pedal 316 to fine-tune the target stop gap is more intuitive and precise than other forms of control, at least due to the driver's familiarity with the amount of accelerator pedal deflection required to move the host vehicle 100 a particular amount. Moreover, the driver can change his or her mind by releasing the accelerator pedal 316 and can expect an immediate response.

However, it is also beneficial to include HMI1 314 for selecting the stop gap and not rely exclusively on the accelerator pedal 316, because the control system 300 does not necessarily know the driver's intent with the accelerator input. For example, the driver may creep the host vehicle 100 forward to avoid blocking an intersection without necessarily intending to change the target stop gap. Thus, the driver may prefer to select a default stop gap from HMI1 314 and use the accelerator 316 only for occasional temporary adjustments. Control after a traffic jam reverts to the original setting from HMI1 314.

An exemplary control method 500 for implementation by the control system 300 during automatic following with ACC is provided in FIG. 4.

At operation 502, the method 500 includes receiving a driver selection from HMI1 314 of a target stop gap ( V2V distance) to be implemented in ACC when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold (e.g., a stopped vehicle threshold). The target stop gap may be implemented as a blend from the target V2V distance since the vehicle speed falls below the threshold and the ACC speed target is zero.

Operation 502 may be performed during ACC or at another time.

In operation 504, the method 500 includes storing the target stop gap selected for implementation in the ACC when the vehicle speed falls below the threshold. The target stop gap may be stored, for example, in memory 306.

In operation 506, the method 500 includes the ACC stopping the host vehicle 100 at the target stop gap of operations 502 and 504 when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold. The distance measurement sensor 316 may provide feedback indicative of the distance from the road user 200 to ensure that the control system 300 stops the host vehicle 100 at the target stop gap position.

In operation 508, the method 500 includes receiving a driver intervention from HMI2 316 to modify the stop gap. If HMI2 316 is an accelerator pedal, the modification may be considered to be a reduction in the stop gap. In an embodiment, receiving the driver intervention includes detecting a torque request from HMI2 316.

The control system 300 may assume that the reason for this intervention is that the driver desires a smaller target stop gap. Alternatively, the control system 300 may prompt the driver to confirm that he or she wishes to update the stored target stop gap.

If the driver instead selects a new target stop gap using HMI1 314 while the host vehicle 100 is stopped, the change may be implemented the next time the host vehicle 100 stops. Until then, the stopped host vehicle 100 may remain in place without a torque request to immediately move the host vehicle 100 to the new target stop gap.

In operation 510, the control system 300 updates the target stop gap depending on the received driver intervention. The updated target stop gap is implemented again when the vehicle speed subsequently falls below the threshold, for example, whenever the host vehicle 100 subsequently stops in traffic.

Operation 510 may include measuring a revised stop gap after driver intervention and detection that the vehicle is stopped. The measurement may utilize, for example, distance measurement sensor 312. The measurement may be initiated by control system 300 when it is detected that host vehicle 100 is stopped. If host vehicle 100 does not stop, the target stop gap may not be updated even though host vehicle 100 is approaching road user 200.

In a first embodiment, the updated target stop gap is a measured stop gap that replaces the previously selected target stop gap. In a second embodiment, the updated target stop gap tends toward the measured stop gap, but does not necessarily need to coincide with the measured stop gap.

An example of a second embodiment is when the new measured stop gap is too close to be acceptable for ACC. The control system 300 may determine if the measured stop gap is below a predetermined minimum stop gap. If the measured stop gap is greater than the minimum, the measured stop gap becomes the updated target stop gap. If the measured stop gap is less than the minimum, the minimum becomes the updated target stop gap.

The minimum stop gap may be a value between 1 meter and 4 meters. The minimum stop gap may be at least slightly smaller than the smallest target stop gap selectable from HMI1 314. This ensures consistent customizability regardless of which stop gap the driver originally selected from HMI1 314.

Operation 512 of method 500 is an optional operation that limits use of the updated target stop gap to only be used within the same hypothetical traffic jam. Operation 512 includes determining whether the vehicle speed is below a second threshold. A host vehicle 100 traveling faster than the threshold of operation 512 indicates that the traffic jam has ended. The threshold may be a value between about 15 kilometers per hour and about 40 kilometers per hour. One example is 18 kilometers per hour. In other embodiments, additional checks or different techniques may be used to determine whether the host vehicle 100 has left the jam.

The threshold of operation 512 for determining whether the jam has ended is not related to the ACC speed target. The threshold of operation 512 may be pre-determined at the factory, for example, whereas the ACC speed target is driver determined. In at least some examples, the ACC speed target is for cruising, so the threshold of operation 512 is lower than the minimum selectable ACC speed target.

As long as the vehicle speed remains below the threshold of operation 512, the method 500 proceeds to operation 514, which includes stopping at the updated target stop gap the next time the host vehicle 100 stops behind the road user 200. The method 500 then loops back to operation 512 to repeatedly check that the vehicle speed remains below the threshold of operation 512.

If the speed of the host vehicle 100 exceeds the threshold of operation 512, the method 500 may revert to the original (default) target stop gap selected from HMI1 314 by looping back to operation 506. Reverting may include forgetting (discarding) the updated target stop gap from HMI2 316. The next time the host vehicle 100 stops, the original target stop gap from HMI1 314 will be used initially, since the host vehicle 100 will be treated as being in a new jam the next time the host vehicle 100 stops. The driver is free to again fine-tune the target stop gap using HMI2 316 based on the characteristics of the new jam.

Although not shown, additional or alternative means for returning to the original target stop gap can be provided. For example, if ACC is deactivated , control can be returned to the original target stop gap the next time ACC is activated. ACC can be inhibited by the driver applying the vehicle brakes or activating an inhibit function such as a digitally operated HMI (e.g., an ACC "cancel" button). Thus, if the driver wants to quickly forget the updated target stop gap, the driver can easily reset ACC by tapping the brake pedal and then reactivating ACC.

So, in summary, HMI1 314 is used to select the permanent target stop gap, and HMI2 316 is used to temporarily modify the target stop gap. In the above example, persistence means consistency or permanence across multiple traffic jams and/or ACC on/off cycles.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be understood that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.

For example, HMI2 316 may be configured with an accelerator actuator that is not pedal operated but instead operated via a touch screen, dial or other equivalent variable control.

For highly automated vehicles that do not have a driver-accessible accelerator, HMI2 may be a dedicated control primarily for adjusting the target stop gap.

Furthermore, although the preceding examples refer to a "stop gap", the concepts described herein can be applied to low speed scenarios if the "stop vehicle threshold" is replaced with a suitable low speed threshold not faster than 10 km/h.

In another embodiment, the automatic mode differs from the ACC in one or more respects, but has the minimum functionality required to perform the method.

For purposes of this disclosure, it should be understood that the controller(s) described herein may each constitute a control unit or computing device having one or more electronic processors. The host vehicle 100 and/or its systems may constitute a single control unit or electronic controller, or alternatively, different functions of the controller(s) may be embodied or hosted in different control units or controllers. A set of instructions may be provided that, when executed, causes the controller(s) or control unit(s) to implement the control techniques described herein (including the method(s) described). The set of instructions may be embedded in one or more electronic processors, or alternatively, the set of instructions may be provided as software executed by one or more electronic processor(s). For example, a first controller may be implemented in software running on one or more electronic processors, and one or more other controllers may also be implemented in software running on one or more electronic processors, optionally the same processor(s) as the first controller. However, it will be understood that other arrangements are useful, and thus the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to any particular arrangement. In any event, the set of instructions described above may be embedded in a computer readable storage medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer readable storage medium), which may constitute any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine or electronic processor/computer, including, but not limited to, magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic storage media (e.g., floppy disks); optical storage media (e.g., CD-ROMs); magneto-optical storage media; read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); erasable programmable memory (e.g., EPROMs and EEPROMs); flash memory; or electrical or other types of media for storing such information/instructions.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

The blocks illustrated in FIG. 4 may represent steps in a method and/or sections of code in the computer program 308. The particular order illustrated in the blocks does not necessarily imply a required or preferred order for the blocks, and the order and arrangement of the blocks may be varied. Additionally, some steps could be omitted.

The features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than those explicitly described.

Although functions have been described with reference to specific functions, those functions may be performed by other functions, whether or not described.

Features are described with reference to one embodiment, but those features may also be present in other embodiments, whether or not they are described.

While the foregoing specification has attempted to draw attention to those features of the invention which are believed to be particularly important, it is to be understood that the applicant claims protection for any patentable feature or combination of features referred to in this specification and/or shown in the drawings, whether or not specifically emphasized.

Claims (14)

1. A control system for a host vehicle operable in an automatic mode, the control system including one or more controllers, the control system comprising:
receiving a following distance to be implemented in an automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold, the following distance selected by a driver via a first human-machine interface ;
storing the received distances ;
receiving driver intervention from a second human machine interface to modify the received following distance ; and updating the stored following distance in response to the driver intervention from the second human machine interface if vehicle speed subsequently falls below the threshold and the host vehicle is capable of operating in the automatic mode. the vehicle distance selected by the first human-machine interface is selectable from a plurality of selectable vehicle distances;
the control system is configured to allow a difference in distance between the plurality of selectable values to be adjusted by driver intervention from the second human-machine interface;
The difference is in the range of 0.25 m to 1 m.
The control system of claim 1 . A control system as claimed in any preceding claim, configured such that the updated following distance is less than a minimum following distance selectable from the first human-machine interface. configured to determine whether the revised following distance is below a minimum following distance;
If the revised following distance is greater than the minimum following distance, the revised following distance becomes the updated following distance;
if the revised following distance is less than the minimum following distance, the minimum following distance becomes the updated following distance;
A control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the minimum vehicle distance is a value between 1m and 4m. A control system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the automatic mode is an adaptive cruise control mode. A control system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein if the vehicle speed exceeds the threshold, the control system is configured to dynamically control the following distance depending on the vehicle speed. the threshold is a first threshold,
the control system reverts to the vehicle distance selected from the first human-machine interface when the vehicle speed subsequently falls below the first threshold if the vehicle speed rises above a second threshold greater than the first threshold;
A control system according to any preceding claim, wherein the second threshold value is a value between 15km/h and 40km/h. Detecting a driver's brake operation or an activation of a function for prohibiting the automatic mode by the driver;
In response to the braking operation or the actuation, inhibiting the automatic mode; and
A control system as claimed in any preceding claim, arranged to revert to the distance selected from the first human machine interface when the automatic mode is subsequently activated. the second human-machine interface is configured to request a drive torque when actuated;
A control system according to any preceding claim, wherein the second human-machine interface includes an accelerator. A control system as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein updating the stored following distance comprises measuring the following distance after driver intervention and detection that the vehicle is stationary. 1. A host vehicle control system operable in an automatic mode, comprising:
The control system includes one or more controllers;
The control system includes:
storing a first following distance that is implemented in the automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a first threshold;
receiving driver intervention to correct following distance;
updating the stored first distance dependent on received driver intervention;
storing the updated following distance to be performed when the vehicle speed falls below the first threshold without exceeding a second threshold;
and restoring the vehicle distance to the first distance if the vehicle speed exceeds the second threshold and then falls below the first threshold. A vehicle comprising a control system according to any one of claims 1 to 11. 1. A method for controlling a host vehicle operable in an automatic mode, comprising:
The method comprises:
receiving a driver selection from a first human machine interface for a following distance to be implemented in the automatic mode when the vehicle speed falls below a threshold;
storing said following distance for implementation in said automatic mode when vehicle speed falls below said threshold;
receiving a driver intervention from a second human machine interface to modify the following distance; and
updating the stored following distance in dependence on received driver intervention, to be performed when vehicle speed falls below the threshold and the host vehicle is capable of operating in the automatic mode. Computer software arranged to, when executed, carry out the method according to claim 13.

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