Method and system for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on road pavements that are dangerous or potentially dangerous to tire and / or vehicle integrity

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method (1) for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on a road pavement, comprising the steps of: acquiring (11) wheel speed values ​​associated with the wheels of a vehicle driven on a road, and georeferenced data associated with the wheel speed values ​​and indicating a corresponding position of the vehicle; and detecting (12) obstacles / elements present on the road based on the acquired wheel speed values, said detection being achieved by identifying an entry time, at which the wheel makes contact with the obstacle / element, and an exit time, at which the wheel has passed over said obstacle / element, and by determining a normalized peak-to-peak value associated with the obstacle / element from the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with an impact-related time falling between the entry time and the exit time. The method comprises the steps of: detecting (12) by calculating based on maximum and minimum speed values ​​and an average value of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with a first no-impact time immediately preceding the entry time; determining (13) a severity associated with the obstacle / element based on the normalized peak-to-peak value; determining (14) a location of the obstacle / element based on acquired geo-referenced data associated with one or more of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the impact-related time and / or the first no-impact time and / or a second no-impact time immediately following the exit time; and storing (15) the location of the obstacle / element together with the severity associated with the obstacle / element.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and system for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on road pavements that are dangerous or potentially dangerous to the integrity of tires and / or vehicles (e.g., potholes, bumps, etc.), for determining the severity / level of the detected obstacles / elements, and preferably for determining one or more geometric characteristics of the detected obstacles / elements. [Background technology]

[0002] As is known, road pavements must be designed to ensure a substantially regular and largely deformation-free rolling surface in order to meet the safety and comfort requirements of vehicles operating on the road pavement.

[0003] Indeed, the impact of a vehicle wheel against / at an obstacle on the road pavement (a pothole, a bump, etc.) can cause damage to the tire of the wheel, in particular to the tire carcass (i.e., casing), and / or to the vehicle (e.g., the wheel rim and / or suspension).

[0004] For example, driving over objects such as bumps and potholes can cause individual cords to break, so an external bulge in the tire sidewall typically indicates that a cord has broken inside the carcass due to impact against / at an obstacle.

[0005] If a damaged tire (e.g. a tire with some damaged cords) is not detected immediately and therefore not repaired / replaced immediately, continuing to drive with the damaged tire risks complete failure / destruction of the tire carcass and even damage to the wheel rim and / or suspension (e.g. if the damaged tire is subjected to further impact against / at another obstacle).

[0006] Therefore, there is a significant need felt in the automotive field for a tire damage detection technique that can automatically and immediately detect potential damage to the tires of an automobile.

[0007] For example, known solutions of this type are disclosed in the applicant's patent documents WO 2019 / 229627 A1, WO 2019 / 229628 A1, WO 2019 / 229629 A1, WO 2019 / 229630 A1, and WO 2019 / 229634 A1.

[0008] In particular, WO 2019 / 229627 A1 relates to a tire damage detection system including an acquisition device, a processing system, and a notification device. The acquisition device is mounted on a vehicle having two or more wheels equipped with tires, is coupled to a vehicle bus of the vehicle, and is configured to acquire signals indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle's wheels from the vehicle bus, and output quantities indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle's wheels. The processing system stores a predetermined tire damage model and is configured to receive the quantities indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle's wheels from the acquisition device. The processing system is also programmed to calculate a normalized wheel speed indicative of the ratio of the wheel speed to the vehicle speed based on the quantities indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle's wheels, and detect potential damage to a tire of a wheel of the vehicle based on the predetermined tire damage model and the normalized wheel speed. The notification device is configured to notify a user associated with the vehicle of the detected potential damage if potential damage to a tire of a wheel of the vehicle is detected by the processing system. In the tire damage detection system according to Patent Document 1 (WO 2019 / 229627 A1), the processing system is a cloud computing system that is wirelessly and remotely connected to the acquisition device, and the notification device is an electronic communication device associated with a user and remotely connected to the cloud computing system via one or more wired and / or wireless networks.

[0009] Alternatively, Patent Document 2 (WO 2019 / 229628 A1) relates to a tire damage detection method including a tire damage detection step, the method comprising the steps of: preparing an acquisition device mounted on a vehicle having two or more wheels fitted with tires and coupled to a vehicle bus of the vehicle, and a processing device / system storing a predetermined tire damage model; acquiring, by the acquisition device, signals indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle wheels from the vehicle bus; outputting, by the acquisition device, quantities indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle wheels; receiving, by the processing device / system, quantities indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle wheels from the acquisition device; calculating, by the processing device / system, a normalized wheel speed indicative of the ratio of the wheel speed to the vehicle speed based on the quantities indicative of the speeds of the vehicle and the vehicle wheels; and detecting, by the processing device / system, potential damage to the tires of the vehicle wheels based on the predetermined tire damage model and the normalized wheel speed. The tire damage detection method according to Patent Document 2 (WO 2019 / 229628 A1) also includes preliminary steps, which include the steps of: performing a test including test tire impacts against / at various obstacles at various vehicle speeds; measuring / obtaining test-related wheel and vehicle speeds during the performed test; calculating a test-related normalized wheel speed based on the test-related wheel and vehicle speed; and determining a predetermined tire damage model to be used by the processing device / system in the tire damage detection step based on the test-related normalized wheel speed and the test-related vehicle speed corresponding to the test tire impact.

[0010] Additionally, Patent Document 3 (WO 2019 / 229629 A1) relates to a tire damage detection system including an acquisition device, a processing system, and a notification device. The acquisition device is mounted on a vehicle having two or more wheels equipped with tires, is coupled to a vehicle bus of the vehicle, and is configured to acquire signals indicative of the wheel speeds of the vehicle from the vehicle bus, and output quantities indicative of the wheel speeds. The processing system is configured to store a predetermined tire damage model and receive the quantities indicative of the wheel speeds from the acquisition device, and is programmed to calculate a normalized wheel speed indicative of the ratio of the wheel speed to an average wheel speed indicative of the vehicle speed based on the quantities indicative of the wheel speed, and detect potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the vehicle based on the predetermined tire damage model and the normalized wheel speed. The notification device is configured to notify a user associated with the vehicle of the detected potential damage if potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the vehicle is detected by the processing system. In the tire damage detection system according to Patent Document 3 (WO 2019 / 229629 A1), the processing system is a cloud computing system that is wirelessly and remotely connected to the acquisition device, and the notification device is an electronic communication device associated with a user and remotely connected to the cloud computing system via one or more wired and / or wireless networks.

[0011] Additionally, Patent Document 4 (WO 2019 / 229630 A1) relates to a tire damage detection method including a tire damage detection step, the method comprising the steps of: preparing an acquisition device mounted on a vehicle having two or more wheels fitted with tires and coupled to a vehicle bus of the vehicle, and a processing device / system storing a predetermined tire damage model; acquiring, by the acquisition device, a signal indicative of the wheel speed of the vehicle from the vehicle bus; outputting, by the acquisition device, an amount indicative of the wheel speed; receiving, by the processing device / system, an amount indicative of the wheel speed from the acquisition device; calculating, by the processing device / system, a normalized wheel speed indicative of the ratio of the wheel speed to an average wheel speed indicative of the vehicle speed based on the amount indicative of the wheel speed; and detecting, by the processing device / system, potential damage to the tire of the wheel of the vehicle based on the predetermined tire damage model and the normalized wheel speed. The tire damage detection method according to Patent Document 4 (WO 2019 / 229630 A1) also includes preliminary steps, which include the steps of: performing tests including test tire impacts against / at various obstacles at various vehicle speeds; measuring / obtaining test-related wheel speeds during the performed tests; calculating test-related normalized wheel speeds based on the test-related wheel speeds; and determining a predetermined tire damage model to be used by the processing device / system in the tire damage detection step based on the test-related normalized wheel speeds corresponding to the test tire impacts and the associated test-related average wheel speed.

[0012] Furthermore, Patent Document 5 (WO 2019 / 229634 A1) relates to a tire damage detection system including an acquisition device and a processing device / system, wherein the acquisition device is mounted on a motor vehicle having two or more wheels fitted with tires, is coupled to a vehicle bus of the motor vehicle, and is configured to acquire signals indicative of wheel speeds of the motor vehicle from the vehicle bus, and to output quantities indicative of the wheel speeds. The processing device / system is configured to store a predetermined tire damage model including a set of predetermined thresholds associated with a set of various reference wheel speed values ​​and a set of predetermined time lengths associated with a set of various reference wheel speed values, and to receive a quantity indicative of the wheel speed from the acquisition device, and is programmed to perform the following steps: analyzing the wheel speed through a sliding time window; selecting one of the predetermined thresholds and one of the predetermined time lengths based on a given reference wheel speed value that is the wheel speed value immediately before and / or after the sliding time window or an average of the wheel speed values, wherein the sliding time window has the selected predetermined time length; detecting maximum and minimum wheel speed values ​​within the sliding time window; calculating the difference between the maximum and minimum values; calculating the ratio of the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​for a given reference wheel speed value; and detecting potential damage to a tire of said wheel of the vehicle if the ratio of the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​for a given reference wheel speed value exceeds the selected predetermined threshold. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0013] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2019 / 229627 Brochure [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2019 / 229628 Brochure [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2019 / 229629 Brochure [Patent Document 4] International Publication No. 2019 / 229630 Brochure [Patent Document 5] International Publication No. 2019 / 229634 Brochure Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0014] In view of the above, the applicant felt the need to carry out in-depth research in order to develop an innovative technical solution for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on road pavements that are dangerous or potentially dangerous for the integrity of the tyre and / or vehicle (e.g. potholes, bumps, etc.), for determining the severity / level of the detected obstacles / elements, and preferably for determining one or more geometric characteristics of the detected obstacles / elements, so as to be able to notify the location of the detected dangerous obstacles / elements to the driver (so that the driver can avoid the dangerous obstacles / elements or react to them with an appropriately reduced speed) and / or to the road management company (e.g. to appropriately plan and / or prioritise road maintenance work). Thus, the applicant arrived at the present invention.

[0015] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a technical solution for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on a road pavement that are dangerous or potentially dangerous for the integrity of the tires and / or the vehicle, for determining the severity / level of the detected obstacles / elements, and preferably for determining one or more geometric characteristics of the detected obstacles / elements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0016] This and other objects are achieved by the present invention in that it relates to a method and system for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on a road pavement, as defined in the appended claims.

[0017] In particular, the present invention relates to a method for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on a road pavement, the method comprising: Obtaining the following steps: - wheel speed values ​​associated with the wheels of a vehicle driven on a road, and - Georeferenced data associated with wheel speed values ​​and indicating the corresponding position of the vehicle obtaining a Detecting obstacles / elements present on the road based on the obtained wheel speed values, which comprises the following sub-steps: - identifying the entry time when the wheel contacts the obstacle / element and the exit time when the wheel passes over the obstacle / element; and - calculating a normalized peak-to-peak value associated with the obstacle / element, this calculation comprising: - the maximum and minimum wheel speed values ​​obtained associated with impact-related times that fall between the entry and exit times; and - the average of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the first non-impact time immediately preceding the approach time the calculating substep being performed based on detecting obstacles / elements present on the road by determining a severity associated with the obstacle / element based on the normalized peak-to-peak value; determining a location of the obstacle / element based on acquired geo-referenced data associated with one or more of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the impact-related time, and / or the first impact-free time, and / or a second impact-free time immediately following the exit time; storing the location of the obstacle / element together with the severity associated with the obstacle / element; Equipped with. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0018] For a better understanding of the invention, preferred embodiments, intended purely as non-limiting examples, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings (not all to scale): [Figure 1] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a method for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 shows an example of the behavior of wheel speed over time for the impact of a car wheel on a pothole in the road. [Figure 3] 1 shows an example of the behavior of wheel speed over time for the impact of a car wheel on a pothole in the road. [Figure 4] Examples of different severity levels for impact of a vehicle wheel at / against obstacles / elements on the road pavement are given. [Figure 5] Examples of the results of impact tests carried out by the applicant by driving a car at various speeds over bumps of various heights are shown. [Figure 6] Examples of charts relating to different degrees of completeness are shown. [Figure 7] An example of a map relating to the Rome region in Italy is shown, showing the detected dangerous obstacles / elements along with the respective severity associated with the obstacle / element. [Figure 8] 1 shows a schematic representation of a dangerous obstacle / element detection and location system according to a general embodiment of the present invention, the system being designed to carry out the dangerous obstacle / element detection and location method shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0019] The following description is presented to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Various modifications to the embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded the widest scope of protection consistent with the features defined in the appended claims.

[0020] The present invention relates to a method for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on road pavements (e.g., potholes, bumps, etc.) that are dangerous or potentially dangerous to the integrity of tires and / or vehicles, for determining the severity / level of the detected obstacles / elements, and preferably for determining one or more geometric characteristics of the detected obstacles / elements.

[0021] In this regard, Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a method for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements, generally designated by the reference numeral 1, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] In particular, the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements comprises: Obtaining the following (block 11 in Figure 1): - wheel speed values ​​associated with the wheels of a motor vehicle (preferably a motor vehicle with two or more wheels, such as a two- or three-wheeled motorcycle, a car, a bus, a truck, etc., equipped with an internal combustion engine, hybrid or electric) driven on a road, and - Georeference data associated with the wheel speed values ​​and indicating the corresponding position of the vehicle (e.g., the position provided by a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, installed in the vehicle). obtaining a Detecting obstacles / elements present on the road based on the acquired wheel speed values ​​(block 12 in Figure 1), which comprises the following sub-steps: - identifying the entry time when the wheel contacts the obstacle / element and the exit time when the wheel passes over the obstacle / element; and - calculating a normalized peak-to-peak value associated with the obstacle / element, this calculation comprising: - the maximum and minimum wheel speed values ​​obtained associated with impact-related times that fall between the entry and exit times; and - the average of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the first non-impact time immediately preceding the approach time The normalized peak-to-peak value is conveniently made based on - the peak-to-peak value of the wheel speed (i.e. the difference between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the wheel speed) resulting from an impact against / at an obstacle / element, - relative to the average wheel speed before impact (the average indicates the speed of the car when it impacts the obstacle / element) the substep of calculating a ratio, whereby said ratio represents the impact-related peak-to-peak wheel velocity normalized with respect to the impact wheel velocity. the detecting step comprising: determining the severity (i.e., degree / level of danger or potential danger to the integrity of the tire of the wheel) associated with the detected obstacle / element based on the normalized peak-to-peak value (block 13 of FIG. 1); determining a location of the detected obstacle / element based on the acquired geo-referenced data associated with one or more of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with an impact-related time (i.e., a time that falls between the entry time and the exit time), and / or a first no-impact time (i.e., a time that immediately precedes the entry time), and / or a second no-impact time that immediately follows the exit time (block 14 of FIG. 1 ); Storing the determined location of the detected obstacle / element together with the determined severity associated with the detected obstacle / element (block 15 of FIG. 1 ), for example in a memory or a database.

[0023] Conveniently, the entry and exit times are identified by analysing the acquired wheel speed values ​​over a sliding time window having a predetermined duration, preferably selected from among predetermined window duration values ​​(e.g. stored predetermined window duration values) based on a current vehicle speed value indicative of the current speed of the motor vehicle (conveniently a current average speed), and conveniently the current vehicle speed value may be calculated based on one or more of the acquired wheel speed values.

[0024] Conveniently, the step of calculating a normalized peak-to-peak value associated with the obstacle / element comprises: forming the following steps: an impact-related velocity vector having the obtained wheel velocity values ​​associated with the impact-related time (i.e., a time included between the entry time and the exit time); and - a no-impact velocity vector with the obtained wheel velocity values ​​associated with the first no-impact time (i.e., the time immediately preceding the entry time); forming a Calculating the normalized peak-to-peak value. - the maximum and minimum wheel speed values ​​in the impact-related velocity vector, and - the average value of the wheel speed values ​​at the no-impact velocity vector (as mentioned before, the average value indicates the speed of the car when it impacts the obstacle / element), and the calculating step is performed based on:

[0025] Preferably, the severity associated with the detected obstacle / element is determined based on the calculated normalized peak-to-peak value and an impact vehicle speed value indicating the speed of the vehicle when the obstacle / element is impacted, advantageously the average speed (block 13 of Figure 1).

[0026] In particular, the impact vehicle speed value is advantageously by obtaining wheel speed values ​​(block 11 of FIG. 1 ) together with corresponding vehicle speed values ​​of the motor vehicle and calculating a vehicle speed at impact value based on one or more of the obtained vehicle speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time (i.e., the vehicle speed value immediately preceding the entry time); or calculating a vehicle speed value at impact based on one or more of the obtained wheel speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time instant, advantageously one or more of the wheel speed values ​​in the no-impact speed vector; can be acquired.

[0027] Advantageously, the step of obtaining wheel speed values ​​(block 11 of FIG. 1 ) comprises obtaining wheel speed values ​​associated with all wheels of the vehicle, and the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements further comprises determining a heading of the vehicle based on obtained geo-referenced data associated with one or more of the obtained wheel speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time and the second no-impact time, and the position of the detected obstacle / element is determined by: a vehicle position determined based on acquired georeferenced data associated with one or more of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the impact-related time; The position on the vehicle of the wheel that impacted the detected obstacle / element (e.g., front / rear, right / left wheel), and The determined direction of travel of the vehicle (which allows the position of the detected obstacle / element to be determined with high accuracy and also identifies the exact road lane in which the detected obstacle / element is located); and (block 14 in FIG. 1)

[0028] Preferably, the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements further comprises: determining a first geometric characteristic of the obstacle / element (advantageously the length of the obstacle / element in the direction of travel of the vehicle) by: The time difference between the identified entry and exit times; and the mean value of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the no-impact time (conveniently the mean value of the wheel speed values ​​in the no-impact speed vector), or the vehicle speed value at the time of impact; The method further comprises the step of estimating the

[0029] Furthermore, the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements preferably also comprises a step of predicting a second geometric characteristic of the obstacle / element (conveniently a height / depth of the obstacle / element) based on the normalized peak-to-peak value, the vehicle speed value at impact and predetermined reference data / threshold values, the predetermined reference data / threshold values ​​being: Conducting impact tests which involve driving one or more motor vehicles at various vehicle speeds against / over various obstacles / elements with various known geometric features (e.g., road potholes, bumps, etc. with various known depths / heights and / or lengths); - measuring / obtaining test-relevant wheel speeds (and, advantageously, test-relevant vehicle speeds) during the impact tests carried out; and calculating / determining reference data / threshold values ​​that are subsequently used to estimate a second geometric characteristic of the detected obstacle / element based on the test-relevant wheel speed (and advantageously the test-relevant vehicle speed); can be obtained in advance by

[0030] Preferably, the severity associated with the detected obstacle / element is also determined based on predetermined criteria data / thresholds (block 13 of FIG. 1) (conveniently determined by preliminarily performing the impact test described above).

[0031] Preferably, the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements further comprises: warning a driver approaching an obstacle / element about the presence of the obstacle / element (allowing the driver to avoid the obstacle / element or to react at an appropriately reduced speed); and / or notifying the road management company responsible for the road of the determined position of the obstacle / element together with the determined severity associated with the determined position (and advantageously also together with the estimated one or more first and / or second geometric features of the obstacle / element) (e.g. thereby enabling the road management company to appropriately plan and / or prioritize road maintenance work).

[0032] Advantageously, the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements can be performed by obtaining (block 11 of FIG. 1 ) wheel speed values ​​and georeference data (and, advantageously, also vehicle speed values) for wheels of a single type or of multiple / various types of motor vehicles (e.g., motor vehicles with two or more wheels, such as two- or three-wheeled motorcycles, cars, buses, trucks, etc., equipped with an internal combustion engine, hybrid or electric).

[0033] In view of the above, the dangerous obstacles / elements detection and location method 1 makes it possible to assess road conditions by detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements (potholes, bumps, etc.) present on the road pavement and advantageously by estimating the geometric shape of the obstacles / elements based on an analysis of the wheel speeds.

[0034] In particular, the dangerous obstacle / element detection and location method 1 advantageously provides information such as the geometric shape and map location of the dangerous road obstacle / element, and can therefore warn the driver in advance to avoid a potential impact with the dangerous road obstacle / element (e.g., by notifying the driver in advance of the presence of the dangerous road obstacle / element and by suggesting an appropriately reduced speed to prevent damage to tires, wheel rims, suspension, etc.). Furthermore, by utilizing the dangerous obstacle / element detection and location method 1, road management companies can also advantageously be informed about the dangerous road obstacle / element, thereby enabling appropriate planning of road maintenance work. Additionally, the information obtained by the dangerous obstacle / element detection and location method 1 can also be used to evaluate vehicle components such as tires, suspension, steering system, and chassis.

[0035] As previously mentioned, detecting obstacles / elements on the road pavement (block 12 in FIG. 1) requires accurately identifying the entry and exit times associated with impact at / against the obstacle / element, and therefore accurately identifying wheel speed values ​​associated with the time before impact at / against the obstacle / element (if the speed is approximately constant), and accurately identifying wheel speed values ​​associated with the time during impact (if, for example, the speed typically reaches a minimum and then a maximum in response to a bump or pothole, or vice versa).

[0036] Advantageously, to accurately identify the pre-impact and post-impact time windows to be used for subsequent analysis / processing, the following mathematical formula can be advantageously used to identify the time at which the wheel contacts the exiting edge of an obstacle / element, such as a pothole, in the road:

number

[0037] In this regard, reference can be made to Figures 2 and 3, which show an example of the behavior of wheel speed over time for the impact of a vehicle wheel on a pothole. With particular reference to Figure 3, by analyzing the waveform resulting from the impact on the pothole, the entry time t0 and the exit time t1 can be identified. Additionally, the time difference Δt imp By multiplying =t1-t0 by the vehicle speed value at impact, an estimated length of the pothole can be obtained.

[0038] Once the entry and exit times associated with the obstacle / element encountered by the vehicle wheel are identified, the corresponding normalized peak-to-peak value P2P can be calculated conveniently according to the following formula:

number

[0039] Next, based on the calculated normalized peak-to-peak value P2P, a severity associated with the encountered obstacle / element can be determined (block 13 in Figure 1). In this regard, reference can be made to Figure 4, which shows examples of different severity levels for the impact of a vehicle wheel at / against an obstacle / element on the road pavement.

[0040] Additionally, as mentioned above, preliminary impact tests can be advantageously performed. In this way, it is possible to evaluate the exponential behavior of the relative peak-to-peak wheel speed signal relative to the vehicle speed signal over various obstacles / elements of various heights / depths and lengths. In this regard, reference may be made to FIG. 5, which shows example results of impact tests conducted by the applicant by driving a vehicle at various speeds over a first bump (solid line) having a first height of 1 cm, a second bump (dashed line) having a second height of 3 cm, and a third bump (dashed line) having a third height of 8 cm.

[0041] As previously mentioned, the severity determined for an obstacle / element (block 13 in Figure 1) indicates the hazard or potential hazard of the obstacle / element to the tire integrity. In particular, the severity can be conveniently calculated by rescaling the normalized peak-to-peak response of one or more vehicles used in the impact test as follows: Severity=1 (Very mild) P2P<50% Exp Severity=2 (Mild) P2P>60% Exp Severity=3 (Relevant) P2P>80% Exp ·Severity=4(Critical) P2P>100% Exp

[0042] In this regard, reference may be made to FIG. 6, which shows an example of a P2P vs. speed chart associated with various degrees of completeness.

[0043] Therefore, the reference threshold can be advantageously adjusted by performing additional impact tests with various additional bump / dimple geometries and shapes.

[0044] Figure 7 shows an example of a map related to the Rome region in Italy, showing the detected dangerous obstacles / elements along with the respective severity levels associated with the obstacles / elements.

[0045] The present invention also provides a system, comprising: Detect and locate obstacles / elements on the road pavement (e.g., potholes, bumps, etc.) that are dangerous or potentially dangerous to the integrity of the tires and / or the vehicle; Determine the severity / level of detected obstacles / elements, and Preferably, one or more geometric features of the detected obstacles / elements are also determined. This relates to a system designed to:

[0046] In this regard, FIG. 8 shows, in block diagram form, a functional architecture of a dangerous obstacle / element detection and location system (generally designated 2) according to the present embodiment, designed to implement the dangerous obstacle / element detection and location method 1.

[0047] In particular, the dangerous obstacle / element detection and location system 2 comprises acquisition means 21, processing means 22, storage means 23 and notification means 24.

[0048] The acquisition means 21 are configured to perform the wheel speed and georeference data acquisition step (block 11 in FIG. 1) of the method 1 for detecting and locating hazards / elements.

[0049] Advantageously, the acquisition means 21 comprises an acquisition device mounted within the motor vehicle and coupled to a vehicle bus of the motor vehicle (e.g. based on a standard Controller Area Network (CAN) bus) for acquiring wheel speed values ​​and georeference data (and advantageously vehicle speed values) from said vehicle bus.

[0050] More generally, the acquisition means 21 preferably comprises a plurality of acquisition devices, each on board a respective motor vehicle and coupled to a respective vehicle bus of said respective motor vehicle, for acquiring respective wheel speed values ​​and respective georeference data (and, advantageously, respective vehicle speed values) from said respective vehicle buses.

[0051] The processing means 22 receiving the acquired wheel speed values ​​and georeference data (and advantageously the acquired vehicle speed values) from the acquisition means 21; Implementing the obstacle / element detection step (block 12 of FIG. 1), the severity determination step (block 13 of FIG. 1) and the location determination step (block 14 of FIG. 1) of the method 1 for detecting and locating dangerous obstacles / elements, Advantageously, one or more of the aforementioned steps of estimating one or more first and / or second geometric features of the detected obstacles / elements is also carried out. It is configured as follows.

[0052] The processing means 22 advantageously comprises: A distributed architecture, a processing device (e.g., a vehicle-type electronic control unit (ECU)) mounted within the vehicle and connected to an acquisition device mounted on said vehicle to receive the acquired wheel speed values ​​and georeference data (and, advantageously, vehicle speed values); or more generally, each of a plurality of processing devices is mounted within each of the motor vehicles and is connected to each of the acquisition devices mounted on each of the motor vehicles so as to receive from each of the acquisition devices each vehicle speed value and georeference data acquired by each of the acquisition devices (and advantageously each vehicle speed value), the distributed architecture, or a centralized architecture, in which a cloud computing system is used, which is wirelessly and remotely connected to one or more acquisition devices (e.g., via one or more mobile communication technologies, such as 2G, 3G, 4G, and / or 5G cellular technology) and receives the wheel speed value(s) and georeference data(s) (and, advantageously, the vehicle speed value(s)) acquired by the one or more acquisition devices; It can be implemented according to:

[0053] The storage means 23 is configured to perform the step of storing (step 15 in Figure 1) the positions of the detected obstacles / elements and the associated severity determined by the processing means 22 (and advantageously the estimated geometric characteristics of the detected obstacles / elements).

[0054] The storage means 23 advantageously stores: In the distributed architecture, a data memory mounted within the motor vehicle and coupled to a processing device mounted on said motor vehicle, or - More generally, each data memory locally coupled to each processing device by, or In the centralized architecture, a database coupled to the cloud computing system It can be implemented.

[0055] The notification means 24 is configured to perform one or more steps to warn the driver and / or the road maintenance company about the detected obstacle / element.

[0056] The notification means 24 advantageously includes: one or more software applications installed on electronic devices used by drivers and / or on the processing systems of road operators; and / or · Human-machine interface (HMI) means installed in the vehicle for use by the driver; It can be implemented by:

[0057] From the foregoing, the technical advantages and innovative features of the present invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0058] In particular, it is important to point out again that the present invention enables the detection, location and severity characterization (and advantageously geometric characterization) of obstacles / elements on the road pavement that are dangerous or potentially dangerous to the integrity of the tire and / or vehicle, such as potholes, bumps, etc.

[0059] Furthermore, the present invention makes it possible to notify the driver of the location of detected dangerous obstacles / elements (so that the driver can avoid the dangerous obstacles / elements or react to them at an appropriately reduced speed) and / or to road management companies (e.g., to appropriately plan and / or prioritize road maintenance work).

[0060] In conclusion, it will be apparent that the present invention can be subjected to numerous modifications and variations which are encompassed within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method (1) for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on a road pavement, said method (1) being performed by a system (2), said method (1) comprising: A step (11) of obtaining: - wheel speed values ​​associated with the wheels of a vehicle driven on a road, and - georeference data associated with said wheel speed values ​​and indicating a corresponding position of said vehicle; Step (11) of obtaining A step (12) of detecting obstacles / elements present on said roadway based on the acquired wheel speed values, comprising the following sub-steps: - identifying the entry time when the wheel contacts the obstacle / element and the exit time when the wheel clears the obstacle / element; and - calculating a normalized peak-to-peak value associated with said obstacle / element, said calculation comprising: - maximum and minimum values ​​of the retrieved wheel speed values ​​associated with impact-related times that fall between the entry time and the exit time; and - an average value of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with a first impact-free time immediately preceding the entry time; the calculating substep being performed based on (12) detecting obstacles / elements present on the road by - determining (13) a severity associated with said obstacle / element based on said normalized peak-to-peak value; determining (14) a location of the obstacle / element based on acquired geo-reference data associated with one or more of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the impact-related time, and / or the first impact-free time, and / or a second impact-free time immediately following the exit time; - storing (15) the location of said obstacles / elements together with the severity associated with said obstacles / elements; A method comprising:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the entry and exit times are identified by analyzing acquired wheel speed values ​​over a sliding time window having a predetermined duration.

3. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined period is selected from among a predetermined window period values ​​based on a current vehicle speed value indicative of a current speed of the motor vehicle.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the current vehicle speed value is calculated based on one or more of the obtained wheel speed values.

5. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of calculating a normalized peak-to-peak value associated with the obstacle / element comprises: forming: - an impact-related velocity vector having acquired wheel velocity values ​​associated with said impact-related time; and - a no-impact velocity vector having acquired wheel velocity values ​​associated with said first no-impact time instant; forming a calculating the normalized peak-to-peak value, which calculation comprises: - the maximum and minimum values ​​of the wheel velocity values ​​in the impact-related velocity vector; and - the average value of said wheel velocity values ​​at said impact-free velocity vector and the calculating step is performed based on

6. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the normalized peak-to-peak value is calculated as a ratio of the difference between the maximum and minimum wheel speed values ​​in the impact-related velocity vector to the average wheel speed value in the impact-free velocity vector.

7. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining wheel speed values ​​(11) comprises obtaining wheel speed values ​​associated with all wheels of the vehicle, and the method (1) further comprises determining a heading of the vehicle based on the obtained geo-reference data associated with one or more of the obtained wheel speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time and the second no-impact time, and the position of the detected obstacle / element is determined by: a vehicle position determined based on the acquired geo-referenced data associated with one or more of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the impact-related time; the position on the vehicle of the wheel that impacted the detected obstacle / element; and - the determined heading of the vehicle; The method is determined based on the

8. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the severity associated with the obstacle / element is determined based on the normalized peak-to-peak value and a vehicle speed at impact value indicative of the speed of the motor vehicle when it impacted the obstacle / element.

9. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the impact vehicle speed value is: by obtaining the wheel speed values ​​together with corresponding vehicle speed values ​​of the motor vehicle and calculating the vehicle speed at impact value based on one or more of the obtained vehicle speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time; or - calculating the vehicle speed value at impact based on one or more of the obtained wheel speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time; The way it is acquired.

10. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: determining a first geometric characteristic of the obstacle / element by: the time difference between the entry time and the exit time, and - an average value of the acquired wheel speed values ​​associated with the first no-impact time, or the impact vehicle speed value; estimating based on

11. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising estimating a second geometric characteristic of the obstacle / element based on the normalized peak-to-peak value, the vehicle speed at impact value, and predetermined reference data / thresholds.

12. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the predetermined reference data / threshold value is: Conducting impact tests that involve driving one or more motor vehicles at various vehicle speeds against / over various obstacles / elements with various known geometric characteristics; - measuring / obtaining test-related wheel speeds and test-related vehicle speeds during said impact tests performed; and calculating / determining reference data / threshold values ​​used to estimate a second geometric characteristic of the detected obstacle / element based on the test-related wheel speed and the test-related vehicle speed; The method is obtained in advance by

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the severity associated with the detected obstacle / element is determined based also on the predetermined criteria data / thresholds.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: - warning a driver approaching said obstacle / element about the presence of said obstacle / element; and / or - notifying the road management company in charge of the road of the location of said obstacle / element together with the severity associated with said obstacle / element.

15. A system (2) designed to carry out the method (1) for detecting and locating obstacles / elements on road pavements according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

16. 16. The system of claim 15, - acquisition means (21) configured to acquire said wheel speed values ​​and said georeference data; processing means (22) configured to receive the acquired wheel speed values ​​and the acquired georeference data from the acquisition means (21), to detect the obstacles / elements, to determine a severity associated with the obstacles / elements, and to determine a position of the obstacles / elements; and - storage means (23) configured to store the positions of said obstacles / elements determined by said processing means (22) and the severity levels associated with said obstacles / elements; A system comprising:

17. 17. The system of claim 16, The acquisition means (21) - Installed in a car, - coupled to a vehicle bus of said motor vehicle; and - obtaining the wheel speed values ​​and the georeference data from the vehicle bus; and a capture device configured to: The processing means (22) a processing device mounted within the motor vehicle and connected to the acquisition device, or a cloud computing system remotely connected to the acquisition device; Including, the system.

18. A processing device / system configured as processing means (22) of the system (2) according to claim 16.

19. 1. A computer program product comprising one or more software and / or firmware code portions, said software and / or firmware code portions comprising: - loadable onto a processing device / system; and - causing the processing device / system, when loaded, to be configured as a processing means (22) of a system (2) according to claim 16; Computer program products.

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