Bosch is extending its predictive Road Hazard Service, which currently provides car drivers with real-time information about potential dangers en route, to include Mercedes-Benz trucks.

The service, which will be available in Mercedes-Benz trucks from December, sees drivers receive real-time warnings about current events on their route, including information about accidents, vehicles going in the wrong direction, heavy rain or wind, broken-down vehicles, or restricted visibility due to, say, dense fog.

It works by precisely predicting critical road conditions using anonymized data from a global customer fleet of several million vehicles, as well as data from third-party providers such as weather services or road operators.

The fleet vehicles equipped with the service provide various types of information, including local outside temperature and whether the windshield wipers or rear fog lights are activated, as well as accident reports or interventions by the ESP anti-skid system.

For example, if some of the fleet vehicles have their windshield wipers set to the highest level, the service also compares the information with that of selected weather services – such as whether it’s raining or how many millimeters of water have been recorded on the road.

A fusion algorithm determines whether there is a risk of, for example, aquaplaning, and the service then warns the driver so that they can reduce their speed if necessary.

 Similarly if visibility for the driver threatens to fall below a critical level, the service compares this with the activity of the rear fog lights of vehicles in the affected region and uses an algorithm to decide whether a warning is necessary. 

A reference fleet continuously ensures that the service stays at a high level of quality. Bosch’s wrong-way driver warning supplements the service. If there’s a vehicle driving the wrong way in the vicinity, or the driver themself is driving in the wrong direction, the service sends them a warning directly to the navigation display.

The Road Hazard Service is part of Bosch’s Connected Map Services. Their swarm data and weather information can also be used to optimize driver assistance systems such as adaptive cruise control or automatic emergency braking.

For example, when the road is wet or slippery, the friction coefficient of the road is lower than when it’s dry, so the vehicle has to initiate emergency braking earlier in order to avoid a potential accident. With the service, drivers will be warned even earlier when the road surface is slick. 

 Dr. Markus Heyn, Bosch chairman of mobility business, said: ”Our predictive Road Hazard Service reports dangerous conditions to car and truck drivers in good time before a critical situation can arise.

“In commercial vehicles, the service also makes it possible to reroute vehicles efficiently and in time to avoid hazards that suddenly crop up.”

 

 

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