Road surface condition estimation apparatus

A road surface condition estimation apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

• a receiver configured to acquire travel information using a network provided in a vehicle;
• a storage unit configured to store a road surface condition estimation model;
• a road surface severity estimator configured to estimate, based on the travel information, severity of a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle is travelling using the road surface condition estimation model;
• and
• a post-processor configured to perform post-processing on road surface severity information estimated by the road surface severity estimator,
• wherein the post-processor is further configured to:
• apply a first exponential parameter value, when the road surface severity estimator estimates the road surface as a deep road surface, and
• apply a second exponential parameter value, when the road surface severity estimator estimates the road surface as a shallow road surface,
• wherein the road surface condition estimation apparatus is configured to output the post-processed road surface severity information as a reference for switching a travel mode of the vehicle, wherein switching the travel mode is based on a comparison of the post-processed road surface severity information to a preset value.