Method for operating a motor vehicle to determine a road surface property and motor vehicle

Abstract

Method for operating a motor vehicle (1), comprising at least one headlight (3) which is configured to illuminate a roadway (2) in an illumination range (5) for a driver of the motor vehicle (1) as part of at least one lighting function, in particular comprising a low beam function and / or a high beam function, and at least one camera (12) for recording at least one camera image (13), the method comprising the steps of: - illuminating the roadway (2) in at least one observation range (9) of the illumination range (5) by means of the at least one headlight (3), - recording at least one camera image (13) showing the at least one observation range (9) by means of the at least one camera (12), and - determining road information (7) describing at least one roadway property (8) of the roadway (2) by evaluating the at least one camera image (13) in the at least one observation range (9).

Claims

[1] Method for operating a motor vehicle (1), comprising at least one headlight (3) which is configured to illuminate a roadway (2) in an illumination area (5) for a driver of the motor vehicle (1) as part of at least one lighting function, in particular comprising a low beam function and / or a high beam function, and at least one camera (12) for recording at least one camera image (13), the method comprising the steps of: - illuminating the roadway (2) in at least one observation area (9) of the illumination area (5) by means of the at least one headlight (3), - recording at least one camera image (13) showing the at least one observation area (9) by means of the at least one camera (12), and - Determining road information (7) describing at least one road property (8) of the road (2) by evaluating the at least one camera image (13) in the at least one observation area (9). [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that at least one road surface property (8) relates to a road surface condition, in particular a flatness and / or a surface quality, and / or a road surface, in particular a soiling and / or water and / or ice. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat the at least one observation area (9) is illuminated by at least one light source (4) of the at least one headlight (3), wherein the at least one light source (4) and / or a light field (6) emanating from the at least one light source (4) is aligned to illuminate the at least one observation area (9) by pivoting, in particular vertically, onto the at least one observation area (9). [4] Method according to claim 3, characterized by that as the at least one light source (4) a light source (4), in particular a laser light source, is used, which is provided for illuminating a long-distance area further away from the motor vehicle (1) than the at least one observation area (9). [5] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat a camera is used as the at least one camera (12) which is assigned to a driver assistance system and / or a vehicle system (17) designed for at least partially autonomous guidance of the motor vehicle (1). [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a trained function is used to determine the road information (7). [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the road information (7) is determined based on a reflection of the light emitted by the at least one headlight (3) and / or the at least one light source (4) in at least one observation area (9). [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat when determining the road information (7), at least one property of the light emitted by the at least one headlight (3) and / or the at least one light source (4), by which the at least one observation area (9) is illuminated, is taken into account. [9] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one actual value (19) relating to a property of the at least one observation area (9) is determined on the basis of the at least one camera image (13), wherein the at least one actual value (19) is compared with at least one threshold value (20) to determine the roadway information (7). [10] Method according to one of claims 9, characterized bythat at least one predefined value or at least one variable value which is received, in particular retrieved, by means of a communication device (21) of the motor vehicle (1), in particular from the Internet, is used as the at least one threshold value (20). [11] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the roadway (2) is illuminated in two mutually separate observation areas (25, 26), of which a first observation area (25) is further away from the motor vehicle (1) than a second observation area (26), wherein at least one first actual value (28) relating to a property of the first observation area (25) and at least one second actual value (29) relating to a property of the second observation area (26) are determined on the basis of the at least one camera image (13), wherein the at least one first actual value (28) is compared with the at least one second actual value (29) in order to determine the roadway information (7). [12] Method according to one of claims 9 to 11, characterized by that the at least one actual value (19, 28, 29) and / or the at least one threshold value (20) from a group comprising - a form value relating to a form of representation of the respective observation area (9, 25, 26) in the camera image (13), - a brightness value relating to a brightness of the respective observation area (9, 25, 26) in the camera image (13), - a homogeneity value relating to a homogeneity of the representation of the respective observation area (9, 25, 26) in the camera image (13), and - a color value relating to a color variance of the respective observation area (9, 25, 26) in the camera image (13) is selected. [13] Method according to claim 11, characterized bythat at least one first brightness value relating to a brightness of the first observation area (25) in the camera image (13) is determined as the at least one first actual value (28) and at least one second brightness value relating to a brightness of the second observation area (26) in the camera image (13) is determined as the at least one second actual value (29), wherein the brightness values are compared with one another to determine the road surface information (7), wherein the road surface information (7) indicates a transition from a dry to a wet and / or icy road surface (2) when the at least one first brightness value is at least 10%, in particular at least 15%, preferably at least 20% lower than the at least one second brightness value. [14] Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat, on the basis of the determined road information (7), a driver assistance system and / or a vehicle system (17) designed for at least partially autonomous guidance of the motor vehicle (1) and / or a chassis, in particular an adaptive chassis, and / or an engine control system of the motor vehicle (1) is controlled in such a way that the motor vehicle (1) is adjusted to the at least one determined road property (8). [15] Motor vehicle (1), comprising - at least one headlight (3) which is designed to illuminate a roadway (2) in an illumination area (5) for a driver of the motor vehicle (1) within the scope of at least one lighting function, in particular comprising a low beam function and / or a high beam function, - at least one camera (12) for recording at least one camera image (13) showing the illumination area (5) or a part of the illumination area (5), and - at least one control device (18) for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims.

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