Road Perception



Knowledge about road conditions – such as road friction and roughness, speedbumps and potholes – can enable both safer and more efficient travel. For autonomous vehicles this knowledge will of course be a necessity. (Just imagine a self-driving car cruising a highway not knowing that the road is slippery). What’s more, knowledge about road conditions can also help make road maintenance more efficient and environmentally-friendly, from salting and ploughing to mending potholes. This is what Road Perception is all about – making our roads safer for everybody – and NIRA Dynamics have just the software solutions you need. If you want to find out more about how our products can improve safety, performance and comfort in all cars, both today and in the future, keep reading.

Tire Grip Indicator
Having driven “to the moon and back” – twenty times – from the desert heat of Death Valley to the blistering cold of northern Sweden, using more than 6000 different tire sets, we’ve learnt a thing or two about road friction. With Tire Grip Indicator, all that experience will be yours – in a cost efficient, easy-to-implement software solution.

Road Surface Information
RSI gathers vital road surface information through advanced sensor fusion, and provides both descriptive and predictive analyses of the road status.

Road Maintenance
As a contractor, you already know about Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS), and they’ve surely helped you plan your measures in the past. But, while they can tell you the weather, what they will not do is estimate the amount of residual salt on the road surface. And they won’t alert you to the ice patches on that particular shadowy stretch behind the trees, either.

Road Surface Alerts
The next level in vehicle safety is here. Based on world-leading friction estimation technology, Road Surface Alerts is the next generation local hazard warning system providing the most precise warnings ever. From slippery road segments to aquaplaning – Road Surface Alerts increases driver awareness to eliminate the biggest hazard of all. That’s the element of surprise.
RSI Applications
Using Tire Grip Indicator or Road Surface Information data can greatly improve various functions in the car. This is a brief introduction.
Local Hazard Warning – Do you ever watch the snowflake warning in the car? Using TGI data can give the driver a warning as they are passing over a slippery area. This means you will no longer get a warning as soon as its cold outside, but when you actually are entering a slippery and potentially dangerous situation. This is a possibility to start trusting the snowflake warning again. If the service is connected drivers can also get a warning before they enter into the hazardous area, meaning speed can be reduced even before the slippery spots. Dynamic Adaptive Cruise Control – Using friction data together with an ACC will allow dynamic setting of the distance to the vehicle in front. When the road is slippery, the distance to other vehicles will increase. When the grip is good, the distance can be decreased. This helps minimize crashes due to too little distance between vehicles. Dynamic Automatic Emergency Brake – Using friction data together with an AEB will greatly increase safety. Similar to how the Dynamic ACC works, the distance to other vehicles will be dynamic, increasing safety and saving lives. Today, if a road is slippery, cars are not taking that into account when starting an automatic brake. It is likely the braking will be started to late. For the cars of the future, with TGI data, this can reduce the numbers of crashes. Dynamic Regenerative Braking – By utilizing friction information electrical vehicles and hybrid vehicles can improve the efficiency of the charging through regenerative braking. By knowing the friction value, the exact engine brake can be applied. Dynamic 4 Wheel Drive Activation – Knowing the road friction will make cars smarter and make the automatic activation of 4 wheel drive smoother. Today, 4WD can be turned on when the ESC intervenes and detects slipperiness. By using TGI, the car will sense the slipperiness quicker, before the driver can even notice, meaning 4WD can be turned on much faster, well before the slipperiness is causing the car to start skidding on the road.
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Andreas Andersson
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Björn Zachrisson