Nowadays, vehicles have advanced driver-assistance systems which help to improve vehicle safety and save the lives of drivers, passengers and pedestrians. Identification of the road-surface type and condition in real time using a video image sensor, can increase the effectiveness of such systems significantly, especially when adapting it for braking and stability-related solutions. This paper contributes to the development of the new efficient engineering solution aimed at improving vehicle dynamics control via the anti-lock braking system (ABS) by estimating friction coefficient using video data. The experimental research on three different road surface types in dry and wet conditions has been carried out and braking performance was established with a car mathematical model (MM). Testing of a deep neural networks (DNN)-based road-surface and conditions classification algorithm revealed that this is the most promising approach for this task. The research has shown that the proposed solution increases the performance of ABS with a rule-based control strategy.

The automotive industry is currently facing an automated driving revolution. This technology is tightly linked to societal and economic challenges: minimisation of traffic accidents, fuel consumption, traffic congestion, parking demand, and providing mobility for an ageing population, as well as to customer needs toward more personalised services. This study aims at the analysis and presentation of the current state of the art and prospects of automated vehicles (AVs) from various perspectives. This study concentrates on revision of the critical technologies, estimation of the impact on social aspects, identification of legal issues, consideration of factors in commercial success through user acceptance, and foresight carried out by other researchers. The primary material was prepared by review and analysis of research papers, standards, regulations, roadmaps, and projects in the field of AVs technology and its implementation worldwide. A SWOT analysis was performed, and it was found that for rapid AV spread, technological solutions need to be made taking into account law and regulation; user acceptance and human–robot interaction need to be solved together as part of one system.

Integrated chassis control systems represent a significant advancement in the dynamics of ground vehicles, aimed at enhancing overall performance, comfort, handling, and stability. As vehicles transition from internal combustion to electric platforms, integrated chassis control systems have evolved to meet the demands of electrification and automation. This paper analyses the overall control structure of automated vehicles with integrated chassis control systems. Integration of longitudinal, lateral, and vertical systems presents complexities due to the overlapping control regions of various subsystems. The presented methodology includes a comprehensive examination of state-of-the-art technologies, focusing on algorithms to manage control actions and prevent interference between subsystems. The results underscore the importance of control allocation to exploit the additional degrees of freedom offered by over-actuated systems. This paper systematically overviews the various control methods applied in integrated chassis control and path tracking. This includes a detailed examination of perception and decision-making, parameter estimation techniques, reference generation strategies, and the hierarchy of controllers, encompassing high-level, middle-level, and low-level control components. By offering this systematic overview, this paper aims to facilitate a deeper understanding of the diverse control methods employed in automated driving with integrated chassis control, providing insights into their applications, strengths, and limitations.

Gravel pavement has lower construction costs but poorer performance than asphalt surfaces on roads. It also emits dust and deforms under the impact of vehicle loads and ambient air factors; the resulting ripples and ruts constantly deepen, and therefore increase vehicle vibrations and fuel consumption, and reduce safe driving speed and comfort. In this study, existing pavement quality evaluation indexes are analysed, and a methodology for adapting them for roads with gravel pavement is proposed. We report the measured wave depth and length of gravel pavement profile using the straightedge method on a 160 m long road section at three stages of road utilization. The measured pavement elevation was processed according to ISO 8608, and the frequency response of a vehicle was investigated using simulations in MATLAB/Simulink. The international roughness index (IRI) analysis showed that a speed of 30–45 km/h instead of 80 km/h provided the objective results of the IRI calculation on the flexible pavement due to the decreasing velocity of a vehicle’s unsprung mass on a more deteriorated road pavement state. The influence of the corrugation phenomenon of gravel pavement was explored, identifying specific driving safety and comfort cases. Finally, an increase in the dynamic load coefficient (DLC) at a low speed of 30 km/h on the most deteriorated pavement and a high speed of 90 km/h on the middle-quality pavement demonstrated the demand for timely gravel pavement maintenance and the complicated prediction of a safe driving speed for drivers. The main relevant objectives of this study are the adaptation of a road roughness indicator to gravel pavement, including the evaluation of vehicle dynamic responses at different speeds and pavement deterioration states.