Patent Application
20140122014
This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to patent application no. DE 10 2012 219 631.5, filed on Oct. 26, 2012 in Germany, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to a method for detecting at least one unevenness of the road surface, to a method for providing an information item about an unevenness of the road surface in the environment of a road user, to corresponding devices and to a corresponding computer program product.
In modern vehicles, the driving comfort of the vehicle passengers becomes ever more important, especially the soft driving performance of the vehicle is increasingly gaining significance and faulty triggering of safety means of the vehicle having to be avoided at the same time. Conventionally, linking vehicles to the Internet is already on offer, for example in order to convey service-related data to the OEMs. Smartphones and the applications running on them are also widely used. There are also already a couple of Internet databases for the generation of added value at http://www.chargecar.org and furthermore also http://bodytrack.org. Furthermore, a representation and collection of vehicle data by a smartphone application, for example via a Bluetooth or an OBD2 adapter is also conceivable.
The printed document WO 02/30715 A describes a method for triggering at least one restraint means.
Against this background, the present disclosure presents a method for detecting at least one unevenness of the road surface, a method for providing an information item about an unevenness of the road surface in the environment of a road user, corresponding devices and a corresponding computer program product according to the features of the disclosure. Advantageous embodiments are obtained from the respective subclaims and the description following.
The present disclosure creates a method for detecting at least one unevenness of the road surface, the method having the following steps:
An unevenness of the road surface can be understood to be a deviation in the height of a road surface, particularly an abrupt deepening in the road surface, for example a pothole. A record can be understood to be a bundle of information which has at least one information item relating to a geographic position and a local unevenness of the road surface at this geographic position. A record will thus provide an information item about a (local) unevenness of the road surface detected at the geographic position. This information about the local unevenness of the road surface can be acquired, for example, by a sensor of a vehicle such as, for example, an acceleration sensor or an optical sensor (for example of a vehicle camera) and used for generating the record. A geographic position can be understood to be a geographically unambiguously identifiable position or an area of a predetermined extent around this unambiguously identifiable position. Such an identifiable position or geographic position can be understood to be, for example, a geographic coordinate. The unevenness of the road surface can be detected if from the different records relating to an identical geographic position, one information item each about a (local) unevenness of the road surface detected at this geographic position is contained which, for example, meets a predefined criterion in each case. Such a predefined criterion can be, for example, that the (local) unevenness of the road surface has a predetermined minimum area (for example with respect to a plane of the roadway) and/or a predetermined minimum depth. Alternatively or additionally, the unevenness of the road surface can also be detected as being actually present if only one information item (one that can for example be represented in binary as a flag) is provided about the locally detected unevenness of the road surface with respect to a geographic position.
The present disclosure offers the advantage that by the evaluation of a number of records which are advantageously provided by different vehicles, an unevenness of the road surface at the geographic position can now be detected very precisely. In this context, errors or uncertainties which occur during the detection of individual locally detected unevennesses of the road surface at the geographic position are compensated for by a statistical evaluation. If, for example, a vehicle passes the geographic position very rarely, the detection of a local unevenness of the road surface will be subject to uncertainties at this geographic position whether the measurement result actually provides information about an unevenness of the road surface or is caused by another interfering effect which accidentally occurred at the same geographic position. If, in contrast, for example, a central evaluation of the unevennesses of the road surface detected locally at the geographic position is carried out, it is possible to detect much more precisely what is actually an unevenness of the road surface if with respect to this geographic position, the number of records contain information about a detected local unevenness of the road surface.
One embodiment of the present disclosure is particularly advantageous, in which, in the step of detecting the unevenness of the road surface that is detected when the local unevennesses of the road surface from the different records represent a deepening of the road surface with a predetermined minimum depth and/or a predetermined minimum extent. Such an embodiment of the present disclosure offers the advantage of a particularly rugged and not very fault-prone detection of the unevenness of the road surface actually present.
In order to avoid faults or uncertainties in the detection of the (local) unevennesses of the road surface or largely to compensate for these, it is possible, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, in the step of reading in, to read in records which are provided by different vehicles. Such an embodiment of the present disclosure offers the advantage that different vehicles detect, for example, the (local) unevennesses of the road surface by different sensors or sensor types so that by means of the type and manner of different detection of the unevennesses of the road surface, a systematic measuring error by an individual (type of) sensor can be largely compensated for or avoided entirely.
An embodiment of the present disclosure is also advantageous, in which, in the step of reading in, the records are read in from a mobile radio interface. Such an embodiment of the present disclosure offers the advantage that the evaluation or detection of the records can take place from a central position at which a multiplicity of records can be collected and evaluated especially by many different vehicles so that the unevenness of the road surface can be detected with a high statistical quality and reliability.
An embodiment of the present disclosure is particularly advantageous, in which, furthermore, a step of outputting the geographic position and the unevenness of the road surface detected in the step of detecting to at least one further vehicle or a road maintenance organization is provided. Such an embodiment of the present disclosure offers the advantage that the detected unevenness of the road surface can be output in a warning message to a further vehicle or a road maintenance organization, for example so that the driver of the further vehicle can drive particularly carefully at the geographic position and thus a member of the road maintenance organization can eliminate the unevenness of the road surface without having to perform cost-intensive measuring trips himself.
Furthermore, a method for providing an information item about an unevenness of the road surface in the environment of a road user is also proposed, the method having the following steps:
A road user can be understood to be, for example, a vehicle (or a driver of a vehicle, respectively), a bicycle (or a bicycle rider) or a pedestrian (or a corresponding device for detecting and transmitting the locally detected unevenness of the road surface). Such an embodiment of the present disclosure offers the advantage that information about the state of the road surface or unevenness of the road surface can be recorded in a decentralized manner and transmitted for central evaluation.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the present disclosure, the step of detecting the information about the unevenness of the road surface can take place at least by using an acceleration sensor and/or an optical sensor. Such an embodiment of the present disclosure offers the advantage that they can often also be used already in modern vehicles as available sensors for additional utilization. This only requires additional software and the costs for the approach proposed here can be kept low.
For example, in order to be able to verify an unevenness of the road surface already detected in a central evaluation unit, the step of detecting, according to an advantageous embodiment of the present disclosure, can also be carried out in response to a detection signal received via the wireless transmission interface wherein, in particular, the detection signal has a position information item which represents the geographic position.
The present disclosure also creates at least one device which is designed for performing or implementing the steps of one of the methods presented here in corresponding devices. By this variant of the embodiment of the disclosure in the form of a device, too, the object forming the basis of the disclosure can be achieved rapidly and efficiently.
In particular, this provides a device for detecting at least one unevenness of the road surface, the device having the following features:
Furthermore, a device for providing an information item about an unevenness of the road surface in the environment of a road user is proposed here, this device having the following features:
In the present context, a device could be understood to be an electrical device which processes sensor signals and outputs control and/or data signals in dependence thereon. The device can have an interface which can be designed in hardware and/or software. In the case of a hardware design, the interfaces can be, for example, part of a so-called system ASIC which contains the most varied functions of the device. However, it is also possible that the interfaces are separate, integrated circuits and consist at least partially of discrete components. In the case of a software design, the interfaces can be software modules which, for example, are present on a microcontroller, in addition to other software modules.
Of advantage is also a computer program product with program code which can be stored on a machine-readable medium such as a semiconductor memory, a hard-disk memory or an optical memory and is used for performing a method according to one of the embodiments described here when the program product is executed on a computer or a device.
In the text which follows, the disclosure will be explained in greater detail by way of example, using the attached drawings, in which:
In the subsequent description of preferred exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, identical or similar reference symbols are used for the elements shown in the various figures and acting in a similar manner, a repeated description of these elements being omitted.
In order to be able to then find as reliable and rugged a detection as possible of the actual presence of the unevenness 110 of the road surface on the road surface 130 and thus to avoid faults or inaccuracy in the identification of the unevenness 110 of the road surface by the devices of the first vehicle 120A, a corresponding record 155B of a second vehicle 120B can be utilized in the central evaluation unit 115 or in the analysis unit 165 respectively, of the central evaluation unit 115. This record 155B of the second vehicle 120B can also again contain, for example, a geographic position 155 and an information item 135 about the presence of the unevenness 110 of the road surface detected locally by the second vehicle 120B. The second vehicle 120B is shown in
In the analysis unit 165, which can also be called a detection unit for detecting an (actually present) unevenness 110 of the road surface, the records 155A and 155B coming from the different vehicles 120A and 120B or the data contained therein, respectively, can then be evaluated. If, for example, it is detected in the analysis unit 165 that one information item 135 each is present for the same geographic position 145 in the first record 155A and in the second record 155B (or further records, not shown in
It is also conceivable that the unevenness 110 of the road surface actually present is then detected in the analysis unit 165 only when a predetermined number of records, for example more than five or 10 records 155 relating to an identical geographic position 145, each contain an information item 135 that an unevenness 110 of the road surface has been detected locally in a vehicle sending out the relevant record 155 at this geographic position 145.
It is also conceivable that the information item 135 about the unevenness 110 of the road surface, detected locally in the relevant vehicle 120, contains an information item about an area of extent and/or a depth of the unevenness 110 of the road surface below the surface to be traveled over the cover of the road 130, wherein this area of extent and/or depth of the unevenness 110 of the road surface can then be analyzed in the analysis unit 165 and an actually present unevenness 110 of the road surface is only inferred when the area of extent and/or the depth of the unevenness 110 of the road surface is greater than a predetermined reference value. Alternatively or additionally, the information item 135 can be output by the detection unit 125 present in the respective vehicle 120 only when the unevenness 110 of the road surface, detected by the detection unit 125 has an area of extent and/or depth which is greater than a predetermined reference value.
In order to be able to detect as reliably as possible also an unevenness 110 of the road surface, actually present, by means of the analysis unit 165 in the central evaluation unit 115, a detection signal 180 can also be transmitted via a transmission interface 140 of another vehicle 120C. This detection signal 180 can then contain a request to check at the geographic position 145 with respect to the information item 135 already contained in records 155A and 155B, respectively, that at the geographic position 145 the vehicles 120A and 120B sending out the relevant records 155A and 155B have already detected locally an unevenness 110 of the road surface, whether a detection unit 125 of the other vehicle 120C also locally detects an unevenness 110 of the road surface at this geographic position 145. This detection unit 125 can then for example scan an area of the road surface 130 by means of a camera as optical sensor when passing the geographic position 145 contained in the detection signal 180 and to check it for the presence of the unevenness 110 of the road surface. For example, analogously to the procedure in the first vehicle 120A and second vehicle 120B, a corresponding record 155C can then be transmitted back to the analysis unit 162 of the central evaluation unit 115 via the receiving interface 160, which record also contains an information item 135 that an unevenness 110 of the road surface has been detected locally also by the other vehicle 120C at the geographic position contained in the detection signal 180. In this case, it is possible to infer particularly reliably and safely in the analysis unit 165 the actual presence of an unevenness 110 of the road surface on the road surface 130.
It is also conceivable that the central evaluation unit 115 sends or sells a notice relating to the unevenness 110 of the road surface (detected as actually present) including the geographic position 145 allocated to this unevenness 110 of the road surface to a road maintenance organization 185 such as, for example, a road maintenance depot of a freeway so that an employee of this road maintenance organization no longer needs to search the road surface 130 himself for unevennesses 110 of the road surface such as potholes but can drive directly to the geographic position 145 of the unevenness 110 of the road surface detected as actually present, in order to eliminate the unevenness 110 of the road surface.
It is also possible to transmit a warning about the unevenness 110 of the road surface detected as being actually present to drivers of the vehicles which are driving on the road surface 130. This warning or warning information, respectively, can be effected, for example, by means of a signal similar to the detection signal 180 (or in the detection signal 180) to a transmission interface 140 in the relevant vehicles 120 which then outputs the received warning information, for example, acoustically and optically to the driver of the relevant vehicle.
A significant aspect of the approach presented here is the reporting and collecting of as many measurement data as possible of participating vehicles in a central database in the Internet and utilizing this database for representing an added value such as the pothole sensor. The results are statistically evaluated in this database and provided again to the participating vehicles. Similarly, it is also possible to utilize data from stationary test points (e.g. air quality measurements in city centers, pollen count reports) in order to process information centrally, for example to verify this processed information and outputting it to other entities. The collection of data in the car can take place particularly appropriately, for example, via a Bluetooth interface between car and smartphone and/or an application on the smartphone. The database could be operated advantageously by the applicant (e.g. Bosch Car Service branding of the database and the linked application), but a non-profit organization created for this purpose by interested parties (supplier, OEMs, government) would also be conceivable. In this context, the balancing of (possibly depersonalized) data reported by vehicles with respect to one another is intended to offer the possibility of arriving at statistically secured “measurement” results which cannot be calculated due to the limited sensor accuracy in the individual vehicle. Similarly, measurement results from vehicle sensors which, per se, do not allow any meaningful additional information to be provided, can provide for such additional information by linkage with data or with other road users (see below, pothole sensor). For this purpose, the data should contain, apart from, for example, temperature, air pressure etc., especially also the location (GPS) of the vehicle.
This permits the statistical balancing with vehicles in the immediate vicinity or on the same road way (at the same time or at other times). This separates the disclosure from the above-mentioned prior art: it is not the car which detects potholes but a statistical evaluation of event messages from vehicles by a central location (database) detects potholes and reports them. By this means, potholes are actually detected with a high degree of reliability and not only events found which could be potholes. In addition, the data are evaluated not in stations along the road but via the Internet in a central service department.
In particular, an embodiment as pothole sensor is proposed in the approach presented here. Data, for example, of the acceleration sensors (or at least “spikes”) are recorded. If spikes occur regularly at the same locations (not only in the case of this vehicle but also in the case of others, already for months, . . . ), this is an indication of a pothole actually present in the road surface. It would be possible to calculate the quality of the road network without effort by the driver and expensive tests during this. The data can be made available to the road construction officers.
To detect the pothole, a camera can be installed, for example, in the headlamp and/or tail light; this is activated when passing a pothole and places a photo relating to the pothole into a database. The activation of the camera must not necessarily be triggered due to a vibration detected by the vehicle itself. Instead, the next vehicle passing could be “requested” (for example by means of a corresponding signal 180) (via Internet database) to take a photo (which would require, in particular, forward-looking cameras). A reversing camera which may already be present can also be used for this purpose, as can video systems of the vehicle which are actually used for traffic monitoring (pedestrian protection, self-braking vehicles etc).
Other embodiments of the approach presented here are also conceivable, some possibilities being quoted in the text which follows which can be based on the technology presented here.
In particular, a type of “pothole sensor with Internet database” is thus presented by the approach presented here. In this context, an electronic unit/system is used, for example of acceleration sensors, controller and data transmission unit which can deliver data for a central database. As well, an embodiment of an acceleration sensor can be used which delivers corresponding raw data. Furthermore, an embodiment of the approach presented here as controller is conceivable which can preprocess raw data. Furthermore, an embodiment of the approach presented here as controller for linking GPS and acceleration sensor data is conceivable or an embodiment as HMI (human-machine interface) for displaying reported and received data to the driver and permitting, for example, driver interactions. In addition, an embodiment of the approach presented here as controller for linking, for example, GPS data, acceleration sensor data and reversing camera data is conceivable.
The approach presented here thus essentially relates to a concept for the fusion of sensor data of vehicles and other sources (e.g. DWD, pollen count prediction etc.) in a centralized database in the Internet and especially to obtaining additional information (virtual sensors) and action recommendations by means of statistical evaluation and comparison of data of one's own vehicle, especially sensor data, with the data of other road users or also stationary test points.
The exemplary embodiments described and shown in the figures are selected only as examples. Different exemplary embodiments can be combined with one another completely or with respect to individual features. As well, an exemplary embodiment can be supplemented by features of another exemplary embodiment.
Furthermore, method steps according to the disclosure can be executed repeatedly and in another order than that described here.
If an exemplary embodiment comprises an “and/or” link between a first feature and a second feature, it is to be read in such a manner that the exemplary embodiment according to one embodiment has both the first feature and the second feature and, according to another embodiment, has either only the first feature or only the second feature.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2012 219 631.5 | Oct 2012 | DE | national |
