International roughness index estimation method and system

An international roughness index estimation method comprising:

• in a preliminary stage, collecting:
• first vertical acceleration values measured on one or more motor vehicles driven at one or more given constant speeds on one or more roads or road segments associated with known international roughness index values or known road profiles;
• first vehicle geo-referencing data of the measured first vertical acceleration values;
• and
• first vehicle speed data indicative of the one or more given constant speeds associated with the measured first vertical acceleration values;
• further in the preliminary stage:
• computing first root mean square values of the first vertical acceleration values;
• determining one or more vehicle transfer functions mathematically relating vehicle vertical acceleration root mean square values and international roughness index values at the one or more given constant speeds, based on the known international roughness index values or road profiles, the first vehicle geo-referencing data, the first vehicle speed data, and the first root mean square values;
• and
• in an international roughness index estimation stage:
• acquiring second vertical acceleration values measured on a given motor vehicle driven at a driving speed on a given road or road segment;
• computing second root mean square values of the second vertical acceleration values;
• and
• estimating an international roughness index value for the given road or road segment based on one or more vehicle transfer functions determined in the preliminary stage and on the second root mean square values and the driving speed of the given motor vehicle.

An international roughness index estimation system comprising:

• for each of one or more motor vehicles, first and second acquisition devices coupled to a respective vehicle bus of the motor vehicle;
• a cloud computing system remotely coupled to the first and second acquisition devices for each of the one or more motor vehicles and configured, in a preliminary stage, to receive from the respective one or more first acquisition devices:
• first vertical acceleration values wherein the respective motor vehicle is driven at one or more given constant speeds on one or more roads or road segments associated with known international roughness index values or known road profiles;
• first vehicle geo-referencing data of the measured first vertical acceleration values;
• and
• first vehicle speed data indicative of the one or more given constant speeds associated with the measured first vertical acceleration values;
• the cloud computing system further configured in the preliminary stage to:
• compute first root mean square values of the first vertical acceleration values;
• determine one or more vehicle transfer functions mathematically relating vehicle vertical acceleration root mean square values and international roughness index values at the one or more given constant speeds, based on the known international roughness index values or road profiles, the first vehicle geo-referencing data, the first vehicle speed data, and the first root mean square values;
• and
• the cloud computing system further configured in an international roughness index estimation stage to:
• acquire, from the respective one or more second acquisition devices, second vertical acceleration values measured on a given motor vehicle driven at a driving speed on a given road or road segment;
• compute second root mean square values of the second vertical acceleration values;
• and
• estimate an international roughness index value for the given road or road segment based on one or more vehicle transfer functions determined in the preliminary stage and on the second root mean square values and the driving speed of the given motor vehicle.

An international roughness index estimation system comprising:

• for each of one or more motor vehicles, first and second acquisition devices coupled to a respective vehicle bus of the motor vehicle;
• a cloud computing system remotely coupled to the first acquisition device for each of the one or more motor vehicles and configured, in a preliminary stage, to receive therefrom:
• first vertical acceleration values wherein the respective motor vehicle is driven at one or more given constant speeds on one or more roads or road segments associated with known international roughness index values or known road profiles;
• first vehicle geo-referencing data of the measured first vertical acceleration values;
• and
• first vehicle speed data indicative of the one or more given constant speeds associated with the measured first vertical acceleration values;
• the cloud computing system further configured in the preliminary stage to:
• compute first root mean square values of the first vertical acceleration values;
• and
• determine one or more vehicle transfer functions mathematically relating vehicle vertical acceleration root mean square values and international roughness index values at the one or more given constant speeds, based on the known international roughness index values or road profiles, the first vehicle geo-referencing data, the first vehicle speed data, and the first root mean square values;
• and
• for each of the one or more motor vehicles, a respective electronic control unit installed onboard the motor vehicle and coupled to the respective second acquisition device, and configured in an international roughness index estimation stage to:
• acquire, from the respective second acquisition device, second vertical acceleration values measured on the respective motor vehicle driven at a driving speed on a given road or road segment;
• compute second root mean square values of the second vertical acceleration values;
• and
• estimate an international roughness index value for the given road or road segment based on one or more vehicle transfer functions determined in the preliminary stage and on the second root mean square values and the driving speed of the respective motor vehicle.