Vehicle sink alert system and method

A vehicle sink alert method for a vehicle in a surroundings, the vehicle having a plurality of wheels and a plurality of vehicle sensors, the vehicle sink alert method comprising:

• receiving vehicle parameter readings from the plurality of vehicle sensors;
• calculating a wheel sink depth for a monitored wheel of the plurality of wheels using the vehicle parameter readings;
• receiving image data of the surroundings from a camera;
• calculating field conditions using the image data;
• predicting whether a vehicle sink event is expected using the calculated wheel sink depth and the calculated field conditions;
• and
• activating an alert when a vehicle sink event is predicted;
• wherein predicting whether a vehicle sink event is expected comprises:
• forming a multi-dimensional data model comprising positive sink data points where a historical vehicle sink event has occurred and negative sink data points where a historical vehicle sink event has not occurred;
• generating a current vehicle data point using current vehicle parameters;
• determining whether the current vehicle data point is inside a positive sink region formed by the positive sink data points or outside the positive sink region;
• and
• predicting a vehicle sink event is expected if the current vehicle data point is inside the positive sink region.

A vehicle sink alert system for a vehicle that includes a plurality of vehicle sensors and a plurality of wheels, the vehicle sink alert system comprising:

• a force sensor configured to be coupled to a monitored wheel of the plurality of wheels, to monitor lateral force on the monitored wheel and to provide lateral force readings;
• a camera configured to collect image data;
• a vehicle interface configured to communicate with the plurality of vehicle sensors to provide vehicle speed readings;
• a controller configured to calculate wheel sink depth based on the lateral force readings and the vehicle speed readings, and to calculate field conditions based on the image data;
• and
• an alert device;
• wherein the controller is configured to predict whether a vehicle sink event is expected based on the calculated wheel sink depth and field conditions, and to activate the alert device when a vehicle sink event is predicted;
• and
• wherein the controller is configured to access a multi-dimensional data model that includes positive sink data points where a historical vehicle sink event has occurred, negative sink data points where a historical vehicle sink event has not occurred, and a boundary that separates the positive sink data points from the negative sink data points;
• to generate a current vehicle data point from current monitored and calculated data;
• and to predict whether a vehicle sink event is expected based on whether the current vehicle data point is or is not on the side of the boundary with the positive sink data points.