Process and apparatus for controlling the forward movement of a motor vehicle as a function of route parameters in a driving mode with a single pedal

A process for controlling the forward movement of a motor vehicle, the motor vehicle comprising a braking device, a control operable by a driver from a rest position toward an end position, wherein the motor vehicle is configured to accelerate when the control is operated toward the end position, such that the control has an activation movement toward the end position, and return means configured to automatically return the control to the rest position from any of its current positions following a release of the control by the driver, such that the control has a return movement from the current position toward the rest position, the process comprising the steps of:

• determining at least a first parameter being characteristic of the return movement;
• determining one or more additional parameters, each of which is representative of one among:
• a morphological state of a portion of the road in front of the motor vehicle;
• a regulatory state associated with one or more road rules applied to the portion of the road in front of the motor vehicle;
• a traffic state associated with one or more entities, such as vehicles, objects, or living beings, passing on the portion of the road in front of the motor vehicle;
• a kinematic state of the motor vehicle;
• and
• braking the motor vehicle by controlling the braking device as a function of the determined first parameter and the determined additional parameters, said braking step comprising:
• generating a signal corresponding to a desired braking torque for the motor vehicle as a function of the determined first parameter and the determined additional parameters;
• setting said signal as a braking target;
• and
• controlling the braking device based on the set braking target, wherein the signal is calculated by a function linking a set of inputs defined by the first parameter and the additional parameters to an output defined by said signal, the function being in turn determined by at least a first identification of the function by an application of a model identification method from experimental data on a plurality of first experimental detections each comprising one or more values indicative of an actual braking torque of a further motor vehicle having a throttle control and a brake control separated between each other, where each of the first experimental detections is set as the output of the function to be identified and is acquired in association with a corresponding set of first detected values of the first parameter and of the additional parameters, the first detected values being in turn set as the inputs of the function to be identified, and wherein the one or more additional parameters include at least a first parameter representative of said morphological state.