Road condition detection system
First Claim
1. A system for detecting and monitoring road conditions, the system comprising:
- one or more memory storage areas comprising historical illumination data associated with particular locations on one or more road surfaces and associated with particular times of day; and
one or more processors in communication with the one or more memory storage areas;
wherein the one or more processors are, collectively, configured to;
monitor road condition data captured by one or more road condition detection systems provided on a vehicle, the one or more road condition detection systems comprising;
a vibration sensor configured to capture vibration data indicative of the magnitude and frequency of vibration of the vehicle;
an optical camera comprising an aperture configured to receive light from the one or more road surfaces traveled by the vehicle;
an optical sensor configured to capture illumination data associated with an intensity of the light received through the aperture;
a location determining device configured to determine the location of the vehicle on the one or more road surfaces; and
a real-time clock configured to indicate a time of day;
capture, for storage in the one or more memory storage areas, road condition data from the one or more road condition detection systems, wherein the captured road condition data is indicative of one or more road condition attributes of the one or more road surfaces traveled by the vehicle, the road condition data comprising;
vibration data from the vibration sensor; and
illumination data from the optical sensor;
associate location data from the location determining device and time of day data from the real-time clock with the road condition data captured by the vibration sensor and the optical sensor;
retrieve the historical illumination data from the one or more memory storage areas;
compare the captured illumination data with the historical illumination data corresponding to the locations and the times of day of the captured illumination data;
identify one or more deviations between the captured illumination data and the historical illumination data;
store data indicative of the identified one or more deviations between the captured illumination data and the historical illumination data and their respective locations in the one or more memory storage areas;
identify a change in magnitude or frequency of the captured vibration data that is indicative of one or more potholes existing along the one or more road surfaces;
determine, based on the captured vibration data, a severity of the identified one or more potholes;
determine, based on the captured vibration data, the location of the identified one or more potholes;
store data indicative of the identified one or more potholes and their respective locations in the one or more memory storage areas; and
determine, based at least in part on the determined severity of the identified one or more potholes, the determined location of the identified one or more potholes, and deviations between the captured illumination data and the historical illumination data, a road condition index value for a road surface, wherein the road condition index value is indicative of the quantity of the identified one or more road potholes along the road surface, the severity of each of the identified one or more potholes along the road surface, and the illumination level along the road surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a road condition detection system for identifying and monitoring road conditions, and for communicating information regarding road conditions to various users. The road condition detection system is provided for capturing data indicative of road conditions and analyzing the captured data to locate and identify various road conditions (e.g., road hazards, such as potholes, or weather conditions, such as ice). In various embodiments, the road condition detection system includes a road condition sensor array configured for being attached to a vehicle and for capturing road condition data. The captured data may be transmitted and assessed by a server configured for identifying potential road hazards or other road conditions based on the road condition data captured by the sensor array.
80 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A system for detecting and monitoring road conditions, the system comprising:
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one or more memory storage areas comprising historical illumination data associated with particular locations on one or more road surfaces and associated with particular times of day; and one or more processors in communication with the one or more memory storage areas; wherein the one or more processors are, collectively, configured to; monitor road condition data captured by one or more road condition detection systems provided on a vehicle, the one or more road condition detection systems comprising; a vibration sensor configured to capture vibration data indicative of the magnitude and frequency of vibration of the vehicle; an optical camera comprising an aperture configured to receive light from the one or more road surfaces traveled by the vehicle; an optical sensor configured to capture illumination data associated with an intensity of the light received through the aperture; a location determining device configured to determine the location of the vehicle on the one or more road surfaces; and a real-time clock configured to indicate a time of day; capture, for storage in the one or more memory storage areas, road condition data from the one or more road condition detection systems, wherein the captured road condition data is indicative of one or more road condition attributes of the one or more road surfaces traveled by the vehicle, the road condition data comprising; vibration data from the vibration sensor; and illumination data from the optical sensor; associate location data from the location determining device and time of day data from the real-time clock with the road condition data captured by the vibration sensor and the optical sensor; retrieve the historical illumination data from the one or more memory storage areas; compare the captured illumination data with the historical illumination data corresponding to the locations and the times of day of the captured illumination data; identify one or more deviations between the captured illumination data and the historical illumination data; store data indicative of the identified one or more deviations between the captured illumination data and the historical illumination data and their respective locations in the one or more memory storage areas; identify a change in magnitude or frequency of the captured vibration data that is indicative of one or more potholes existing along the one or more road surfaces; determine, based on the captured vibration data, a severity of the identified one or more potholes; determine, based on the captured vibration data, the location of the identified one or more potholes; store data indicative of the identified one or more potholes and their respective locations in the one or more memory storage areas; and determine, based at least in part on the determined severity of the identified one or more potholes, the determined location of the identified one or more potholes, and deviations between the captured illumination data and the historical illumination data, a road condition index value for a road surface, wherein the road condition index value is indicative of the quantity of the identified one or more road potholes along the road surface, the severity of each of the identified one or more potholes along the road surface, and the illumination level along the road surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification