Determining vehicle operating state by particle detection

A system for determining an operating state using particle detection, the system comprising:

• a plurality of particle detectors, a sample volume used by one of the particle detectors of the plurality of particle detectors being collected at a distance from a surface of the vehicle that is greater than at least one other collected sampled volume used by another particle detector of the plurality of particle detectors;
• at least one controller in communication with the plurality of particle detectors, the at least one controller configured to determine at least one current operating state of the vehicle based at least in part on a comparison of current output signals of at least two particle detectors of the plurality of particle detectors, wherein the at least one controller is configured to use at least one of a measurement of a particle size distribution and a measurement of particle concentration as a function of distance from the vehicle in determining the at least one operating state of the vehicle;
• at least one memory to store at least operating instructions implemented by the controller in determining the at least one current operating state of the vehicle;
• and
• a vehicle operating control system configured to control operations of the vehicle based at least in part on the determination of the at least one current operating state of the vehicle by the controller.

A method of operating a system for determining an operating state using particle detection, the method comprising:

• obtaining at least a current first sample volume of particles with a first particle detector and a current second sample volume of particles with a second particle detector, wherein the first sample volume is collected in an environment where particles being detected by the first particle detector are disturbed by the vehicle by a change in operating state of the vehicle and the second sample volume is collected by the second particle detector in an environment where the particles in the second sample volume being detected will be disturbed in a different manner than the particles in the first sample volume by the change in operating state of the vehicle;
• comparing particles in the at least first sample volume and the second sampled volume with a controller, wherein the comparing particles in the first and second sample volumes with the controller includes at least one of comparing a measurement of a particle size distribution and a measurement of particle concentration as a function of distance from the vehicle;
• determining at least one current operating state of the vehicle based on the comparison;
• and
• augmenting at least one operating state of the vehicle determined by a sensor system based on the determined at least one current operating state of the vehicle.