Vehicle Head Unit Road Quality Sensing Across Multiple Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for monitoring road quality are limited by their reliance on single-vehicle data and lack the ability to aggregate data across multiple vehicles, making it impractical to efficiently determine and report road conditions.
Innovation Solution
A communication device integrated into a vehicle's head unit, utilizing sensors such as vertical displacement sensors and GPS, collects road quality data and transmits it to a central server for aggregation and analysis, enabling the generation of average road quality indications and sensor calibration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If response type road roughness meters (tow vehicle and trailer systems) are used to measure road quality, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and resource requirements increase to impractical levels for aggregating data across multiple vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the vehicle's existing suspension system as a natural sensor, copying the measurement function from dedicated road roughness meters. The vertical displacement sensor measures the vehicle body's vertical movement relative to the wheel assembly, which indirectly measures road surface conditions. This approach eliminates the need for complex tow vehicle-trailer measurement systems while achieving practical road quality assessment across multiple vehicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical tow vehicle and trailer system with an electronic sensing system integrated into the vehicle's existing suspension. Instead of using mechanical linkages to measure road roughness, the system uses vertical displacement sensors, accelerometers, and GPS data processed through electronic circuits to determine road quality indicators, significantly reducing device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If data aggregation across multiple vehicles is implemented, then road quality information accuracy is improved, but loss of time and communication resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously collects and stores road quality data in the vehicle's memory during normal operation, preparing the data in advance for transmission. When the vehicle connects to a communication network, the pre-processed data can be quickly uploaded and aggregated with other vehicles' data, reducing the actual aggregation time while maintaining high accuracy through multiple data points.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transmits road quality data periodically or at predetermined intervals rather than continuously, reducing communication overhead and time loss. The electronic circuit processes data at regular intervals and transmits aggregated results, balancing the need for accurate road quality information with efficient use of communication resources.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient data aggregation across multiple vehicles to provide accurate road quality reports, improving driving directions and allowing for real-time sensor recalibration and calibration of road quality data.
Implementation Method 1
the signals from the sensors are monitored by an electronic circuit of the head unit and analyzed to judge the quality of the road by the amount of vertical vibration that is encountered
Implementation Method 2
the vehicle's location on a road may be determined by a GPS-enabled head unit or similar device together with appropriate mapping software
Data Source
AI summary
To monitor and report road quality, a server device is configured to receive, from a plurality of vehicles, respective reports, each of the reports indicating a geographic road location of a vehicle and a road quality indication for the geographic location; update, using the reports, a table correlating geographic road locations and road quality indications; determine average road quality indicia for a geographic road location, based on the road quality indications in the table; and in response to a query from a communication device, provide the communication device with an information update based on at least the average road quality indicia.