Technological measures of forefront road identification for vehicle comfort and safety improvement

Abstract

This paper presents the technological measures currently being developed at institutes and vehicle research centres dealing with forefront road identification. In this case, road identification corresponds with the pavement irregularities and friction states which are evaluated by laser scanning and image analysis. Real-time adaptation, adaptation in advance and system external informing are stated as sequential generations of vehicle suspension and active braking systems where road identification is significantly important. Active and semi-active suspensions with their adaptation technologies for comfort and road holding characteristics are analysed. Also, an active braking system such as anti-lock braking system (ABS) and autonomous emergency braking (AEB) have been considered as very sensitive to the road friction state. Artificial intelligence methods of deep learning have been presented as a promising image analysis method for classification of 12 different road surface types. Concluding the achieved benefit of road identification for traffic safety improvement is presented with reference to analysed research reports and assumptions made after the initial evaluation.