Bosch has announced the expansion of its predictive Road Hazard Service to include Mercedes-Benz trucks, enhancing safety and navigation.
- The service equips drivers with real-time alerts on potential road hazards, leveraging data from a global fleet and third-party providers.
- From December, Mercedes-Benz trucks will start receiving alerts about adverse weather conditions, visibility issues, and wrong-way driving.
- Bosch’s service utilises advanced algorithms to predict risks like aquaplaning, enriching driver assistance systems for safer travel.
- This innovation is part of Bosch’s commitment to improving road safety and optimising route efficiency for commercial vehicles.
Bosch has broadened the scope of its predictive Road Hazard Service, previously available only to car drivers, to include Mercedes-Benz trucks. The service is poised to be accessible in these trucks starting December. By providing real-time alerts on potential hazards en route, such as accidents, adverse weather conditions, or incorrect driving directions, it aims to significantly boost navigation safety.
This advanced warning system operates by analysing anonymised data from a global fleet numbering several million vehicles. Supplementing this with data from third-party sources like weather services, the system employs sophisticated algorithms to forecast critical road conditions. Drivers receive alerts when risks such as heavy rain or restricted visibility are detected, enabling them to adjust their driving accordingly.
A unique feature of Bosch’s service is its use of fusion algorithms to predict aquaplaning conditions by examining windshield wiper activity in correlation with weather reports. If a risk is identified, the system swiftly advises drivers to reduce speed. Furthermore, it monitors the activation of rear fog lights across vehicles in a given area to assess and warn against low visibility conditions.
An integral component of the service is its wrong-way driver alert. Using swarm data and other inputs, the system warns drivers if they or other vehicles are traveling in the wrong direction, directly signalling this on the navigation display. This alert is particularly crucial for avoiding head-on collisions, thus elevating road safety standards.
The service integrates seamlessly with Bosch’s existing Connected Map Services, augmenting driver assistance technologies such as adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. Dr Markus Heyn, chairman of Bosch’s mobility business, highlighted the role of the system in ensuring efficient rerouting and hazard avoidance, noting its capacity to provide timely warnings to avert critical situations.
The extension of Bosch’s Road Hazard Service to Mercedes-Benz trucks marks a significant stride in commercial vehicle safety and operational efficiency.
