The technology disclosed herein relates generally to the field of road vehicle traffic, and in particular to methods, entity and system relating to driver safety and comfort.

Background

Various functions are nowadays available in many road vehicles, for instance security enhancing functions such as detecting icy or slippery road conditions. Another such function, mainly a comfort enhancing function, allows for recording of "bumps" in roads. These types of functions may be implemented by using various sensors in the vehicle, e.g. accelerometer information or by using built-in radar and camera technologies in high end vehicles. By recording this type of information, it is possible to generate warnings when the vehicle is approaching a dangerous area, for example a road with slippery conditions. As a more specific example, the vehicle's suspension can be adapted automatically in order to minimize the impact that a bump, recorded by a radar of the vehicle, may have on the driving experience, in particular by minimizing the vehicle's body movements.

Many vehicles still lack such features, which are highly valuable both in view of being an aid in preventing fatal vehicle accidents and serious road traffic injuries, but also in increasing driver comfort. Improvements relating to such features are therefore desirable.

Summary

An objective of the present disclosure is to solve or at least alleviate at least one of the aforementioned problems.

The objective is according to a first aspect achieved by a method performed in an entity for providing driving instructions to a device in a vehicle. The method comprises establishing that an identified vehicle is approaching a first road segment; obtaining, from a database, a vehicle profile for a vehicle identical or similar to the identified vehicle; generating driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile; and providing the driving instructions to the device in the vehicle. The method provides a way of re-using valuable information, relating to and obtained from one vehicle and/ or driver, for the benefit of another vehicle. The information, which may be adapted to suit the other vehicle, may be used for the benefit of any other vehicle. For instance, information from a high-end vehicle may be adapted for and used by a low-end vehicle, which itself lacks a feature for determining that the vehicle is approaching a road bump (not having e.g. cameras and radars that could detect this).

The objective is according to a second aspect achieved by an entity for providing driving instructions to a device in a vehicle. The entity is configured to establish that an identified vehicle is approaching a first road segment; obtain, from a database, a vehicle profile for a vehicle identical or similar to the identified vehicle; generate driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile; and provide the driving instructions to the device in the vehicle.

The objective is according to a third aspect achieved by a computer program for an entity for providing driving instructions to a device in a vehicle. The computer program comprises computer program code, which, when executed on at least one processor of the entity causes the entity to perform the method as above.

The objective is according to a fourth aspect achieved by a computer program product comprising a computer program as above and a computer readable means on which the computer program is stored.

The objective is according to a fifth aspect achieved by a method performed in a system for providing driving instructions to a device in a vehicle. The method comprises receiving, from an identified first vehicle, geographical position data for a first road segment, data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy, and driving data of the identified first vehicle; updating a vehicle profile of a database based on the received information; receiving an indication that an identified second vehicle, being a vehicle identical or similar to the identified first vehicle, is approaching the first road segment; obtaining, from the database, a vehicle profile for the identified first vehicle; generating driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile; and providing the driving instructions to a device in the identified second vehicle. The objective is according to a sixth aspect achieved by a system for providing driving instructions to a device in a vehicle. The system is configured to: receive, from an identified first vehicle, geographical position data for a first road segment, data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy, and driving data of the identified first vehicle; update a vehicle profile of a database based on the received information; receive an indication that an identified second vehicle, being a vehicle identical or similar to the identified first vehicle, is approaching the first road segment; obtain, from the database, a vehicle profile for the identified first vehicle; generate driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile; and provide the driving instructions to a device in the identified second vehicle.

The objective is according to a seventh aspect achieved by a computer program for a system for providing driving instructions to a device of a vehicle. The computer program comprises computer program code, which, when executed on at least one processor of the system causes the system to perform the method as above.

The objective is according to an eight aspect achieved by a computer program product comprising a computer program as above and a computer readable means on which the computer program is stored.

Further features and advantages of the present disclosure will become clear upon reading the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure l illustrates schematically an environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

Figure 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating reporting of information.

Figure 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating reporting and providing of information.

Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart over steps of a method in an entity in accordance with the present disclosure.

Figure 5 illustrates schematically an entity and means for implementing

embodiments of a method of the present disclosure. Figure 6 illustrates a node comprising function modules/software modules for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Figure 7 illustrates a flow chart over steps of a method in a system in accordance with the present disclosure.

Figure 8 illustrates a system comprising function modules/ software modules for implementing embodiments of a method of the present disclosure.

Detailed description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth such as particular architectures, interfaces, techniques, etc. in order to provide a thorough understanding. In other instances, detailed descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so as not to obscure the description with unnecessary detail. Same reference numerals refer to same or similar elements throughout the description.

Briefly, the present disclosure provides, in one aspect, profiles that associate a vehicle's behavior in a particular road segment at a specific speed with the driver's satisfaction. In contrast to prior art, wherein the information that is recorded is available only to the particular vehicle, the present disclosure re-uses such

information. For instance, high-end vehicles are often equipped with a plethora of sensors that allow efficient means of identifying problematic road segments (e.g. "bumpy" road segments), and the information recorded by such vehicles can, in an aspect of the present disclosure, be re-used, either locally or with other vehicles, in particular other similar vehicles. Further, while current high end vehicles lack means of rating how satisfactory e.g. an automatically performed suspension adaptation was perceived by the driver, the present disclosure does indeed provide such means. In particular, the present disclosure allows for information regarding degree of satisfaction to be captured and taken into consideration in the entity that does profile adaptation.

In another aspect, a mechanism is provided for adapting such recorded information to other kind of vehicles and providing a recommendation to the driver or directly to vehicle's suspension system if such a feature is supported. The provision of such features allows also low-end vehicles to receive

recommendations recorded by similar (or high-end) vehicles that may eventually offer an improved driving experience in problematic road segments. Even if the low- end vehicle does not have any capability for adjusting it's suspension electronically, a recommendation regarding the speed at which a problematic road segment should be traversed and/or an approximated location of the problematic road segment (e.g. center of 2 lane from the right) in order to minimize the vehicle's body movements (associated also to the vehicle's weight) can very much improve driving experience.

The present disclosure provides a mechanism that adapts a driving profile of a particular vehicle in a problematic road segment, in particular a bumpy road segment, to another vehicle. As a particular example, a heavy vehicle could traverse a bumpy road segment at a relatively low speed in order to minimize the vehicle's body movement, while for the same segment, a more lightweight vehicle would require a higher speed to achieve the same effect.

The present disclosure also provides, in an aspect, a communication channel between the vehicle and a system. As an example of this the communication channel may be between the vehicle and a node of a wireless communication network or another entity or infrastructure in a cloud (central cloud or local cloud) that allows for recording information about road segments, for communicating recommendations to the driver and also for recording feedback from the driver as to whether or not that recommendation was satisfactory or not, i.e. a feedback loop.

The reception, processing, storing and transmission of information may be done in a local manner. For instance, processing nodes may be arranged at several locations, each processing node handling a (local) area. Such processing nodes maybe provided and removed as needed, e.g. when a bump of a bumpy road is removed, the processing node maybe removed.

In this description the expression "problematic road segment" is used and may refer to e.g. a road segments comprising bumps and/or holes. More generally, a

problematic road segment is any road segment comprising continuous fluctuations along its surface which cause a vehicle's body to oscillate. Figure l illustrates schematically an environment in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The system 1 comprises a road and vehicle profile database (RVPD) 2. The RVPD 2 may comprise a node in a wireless

communication network, e.g. comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) of a 3GPP network. In other embodiments, the RVPD 2 may be arranged locally in a vehicle. The RVPD stores information about vehicles e.g. in the form of vehicle profiles, and information about different road segments, in particular problematic road segments.

The system 1 comprises one or more profile adaptation entities 3 which are used in order to generate recommendations to the driver regarding how to traverse a road segment.

The RVPD 2 and the profile adaptation entity 3 are interconnected such as to be able to communicate information with each other. It is also noted that the RVPD 2 and the profiled adaptation entity 3 may comprise two separate nodes or entities, or the RVPD 2 and the profiled adaptation entity 3 may, in other embodiments, be integrated into a single entity/ node.

The system 1 may also comprise one or more vehicles, vehicle 1, vehicle 2,..., vehicle N. A first vehicle 4 and a second vehicle 6 are illustrated as comprising a respective device 5, 7, which is able to communicate with the RVPD 2 and/ or the profile adaptation entity 3. The device 5, 7 may comprise a device mounted in the vehicle or a device of the driver such as a mobile phone. The device 5, 7 comprises at least radio communication means, e.g. a long-range radio for cellular technologies such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or a short-range radio such as Bluetooth. The device 5, 7 may further comprise a processor, display means and other types of output means e.g. means for outputting audio, input means etc.

The device 5, 7 may receive information from the sensors of the vehicle, or from a processor of the vehicle which receives such information from the sensors. The device 5, 7 may also record and store information received by the sensors. In other embodiments, the information from the vehicle 4, 6 may be sent from a processor of the vehicle (not illustrated). As an example, if the device 5, 7 is a mobile phone, then the mobile phone may receive the vehicle information from a processor of the vehicle and transmit this information to the RVPD 2 or profile adaptation entity 3 using e.g. an LTE network. In an aspect, available sensors in the vehicle 4, 6 are used in order to record problematic road segments and other information from the vehicle such as the brand, the location and the speed of the vehicle.

In another aspect, a recommendation to the driver of the vehicle regarding how to traverse a road segment are generated and transmitted.

These aspects are described in the following. It is noted that the recording of information and sending/ generating of recommendations may run in parallel or in subsequent steps.

Recording information from vehicles

The RVPD 2 is responsible for collecting and accumulating information from the vehicles 4, 5. The RVPD 2 may comprise any type of database allowing creation, reading, updating and deleting of vehicle information. Each vehicle 4, 5 transmits information to the RVPD 2, as described earlier. The information may be transmitted anonymously for ensuring the privacy of the drivers. The information may for instance comprise a unique identifier for the vehicle, information about the brand of the vehicle and information about the model. When the vehicle is in motion it transmits information about its speed of the vehicle, the location of the vehicle (using e.g. Global Positioning System, GPS, or positioning by cellular communication node), the weight of the vehicle and the motion of the vehicle's body.

The information may, but need not, be transmitted continuously. Further, not all information needs to be recorded in the vehicle. The transmission of the information maybe done either in real-time or it can be done in batches at later point in time, e.g. according to a scheduling.

Figure 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating reporting of information. The first vehicle 4 may perform a yaw measurement (Arrow Ai). If, for instance, the amount of the vehicle's body movements, as determined e.g. by yaw measurements, exceeds a threshold per second then the information is recorded. Such conditional statement may be implemented by means of a Complex Event Processing system. If the yaw fluctuates in a time window of x seconds, thus implying a bump, then the recorded information is sent (Arrow A2) to the RVPD 2. The information may comprise, but is not limited to, one or more of vehicle identification (VehiclelD), location of the vehicle, speed of vehicle, weight of vehicle, orientation of vehicle.

A Complex Event Processing system (CEP) is a special case of stream processing. In stream processing data is processed without being stored, i.e. information is read periodically; for instance information may be read out from a vehicle thermometer and a computation may be performed after e.g. 10 collected values (also known as a sliding time window of 10). The stream processing may for instance comprise generating an event (or an alarm) if in that time window the temperature on average has increased by 2 points. In complex event processing two or more streams of information may be combined and processed.

Table 1 below exemplifies type of information that may be recorded in the RVPD 2.

TABLE 1 Examples of content of RVPD 2

The information in Table 1 may later on be grouped into problematic segments, for instance by using simple Structured Query Language (SQL) Query Filtering techniques. For instance, groupings can be obtained by using the k-means algorithm which is a well-known machine learning technique. The idea behind k-means is to create clusters (collection of similar data points). Applied to the present case the cluster would be collection of points that are near-by (small distance) and high fluctuation in yaw. The k in k-means defines how many such clusters are to be identified, preferably (but not necessarily) a small number (e.g. <io) is chosen. Next, the k-means algorithm chooses at random x arbitrary data points to become the centers of the each of the x clusters. Afterwards, at every re-iteration of the k-means algorithm the center of the cluster is re-computed by adding data points that are near-by the center of the cluster that we have previously decided upon and so on. Eventually, after a couple of iterations the clusters grow, the center of the cluster is moved and different data points are included thus generating the polygons in Table 2.

Table 2 below is hence an example of the grouped segments table:

TABLE 2 Grouped segment

The polygon of table 2 resulting from applying an SQL query filtering technique to information of table 1 describes the co-ordinates of a particular geographical polygon that identifies a problematic road segment. The information from table 2 can be used in order to identify when a vehicle is entering such a segment. For instance, the information of table 2 may be compared to GPS information received from a vehicle in order to determine whether the vehicle is approaching the problematic road segment.

Generating recommendations

Figure 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating reporting and providing of information.

A vehicle (the first vehicle 4 in this example) may, as described, send information to the RVPD 2 and/or the profile adaptation entity 3 (arrow An). When the first vehicle 4 enters or approaches a problematic area it may send its VehiclelD to the RVPD 2 and/or the profile adaptation entity 3 (again arrow An) in order to receive a recommendation regarding what speed it should use in order to traverse this road. The profile adaptation entity 3 maintains locally a table, which contains e.g. such information about recommended speed. In table 3 below an example is given.

Table 3 Example of part of the content of the profile adaptation node

For instance, a vehicle with VehiclelD 1 (first column of table 3) may have reported driving at a speed of 89 km/h (third column of table 3) in a particular area with Area Id 1 (second column of table 3). The driver (having reported User Id 1, fifth column of table 3) may have rated his experience on traversing this road segment at this particular speed, e.g. to be a "3" (fourth column of table 3) in a scale where "1" is the lowest grade (terrible experience, not recommended to traverse the road segment at this speed with this type of vehicle) and a "5" is the highest grade (great experience, no problem traversing the road segment at this speed with this type of vehicle).

At arrow A12, the profile adaptation entity 3 searches to find vehicle data applicable for this identified vehicle, for instance by comparing vehicle brand and/or vehicle model. If there is no match for this particular vehicle then the profile adaptation entity 3 may search for other vehicles, not being of same brand, but that share the same weight.

The profile adaptation entity 3 may then send (arrow A13) a notification to the first vehicle 4 about at which speed it should traverse the upcoming problematic road segment.

The driver of the first vehicle 4 may then, when having left the problematic road segment, send (arrow A14) a rating on his experience on traversing the road segment at this speed. It is noted that this step (arrow A14) may be done also by vehicles that have not first received a notification from the profile adaptation entity 3. There are vehicles that do not have modern connected sensors and actuators or suspension systems. The driver of such a vehicle (lacking e.g. sensors configured to report to the profile adaptation entity 3) may then instead take a picture of the vehicle using hers/his mobile phone (preferably when vehicle is not in motion), and an online database may determine the brand of the vehicle, retrieve a profile of the vehicle and provide driving instructions to the driver through the mobile phone instead of e.g. adjusting the car suspension system through sensors directly.

Alternatively, she/he may enter information about the vehicle, e.g. in a web-based service, and send it to the profile adaptation entity 3 (e.g. again using his mobile phone).

The various embodiments and features that have been described maybe combined in different ways, examples of which are provided next, with reference to figure 4.

Figure 4 illustrates a flow chart over steps of a method in a node in accordance with the present disclosure. A method 10 is provided, which may be performed in an entity 3 for providing driving instructions to a device 5 in a vehicle 4. The entity 3 may for instance be the earlier described profile adaptation node. In another embodiment, the entity 3 is arranged in the vehicle 4, i.e. it is not a network entity.

The method 10 comprises establishing 11 that an identified vehicle 4 is approaching a first road segment. The establishing 11 may, e.g. when the entity 3 is an entity of a wireless communication network, comprise receiving, in the entity, an indication or notification from a vehicle approaching the first road segment. In another

embodiment, the establishing 11 comprises detecting that the vehicle is approaching the first road segment, e.g. based on the entity 3 having knowledge of the vehicle speed, route followed by the vehicle and estimated point of the vehicle approaching the first road segment. In other embodiments, the entity 3 is arranged in the vehicle 4, and configured to retrieve locations of problematic road segments from a database and to compare these locations to current location of vehicle, and thereby

establishing 11 that the vehicle 4 is approaching a first (problematic) road segment. The vehicle 4 may for instance be identified by the indication including data identifying the vehicle 4.

The method 10 comprises obtaining 12, from a database 2, a vehicle profile for a vehicle identical or similar to the identified vehicle 4. A first vehicle may be considered similar to another vehicle by fulfilling some requirement. For instance, similarity between two vehicles may be defined as a vector normalization or any other special purpose formula such as e.g. weighted Euclidean distance. As a particular example, the vector may consist of four elements: brand, model, weight, speed.

Vehicle 1 can be (BMW, n6i, 1495kg, 30), Vehicle 2 can be (BMW, X5, 2100kg, x). Assuming that Vehicle 2 is the vehicle that is going to traverse the first road segment and based on data of the database it is only known that a lighter vehicle (i.e. Vehicle 1) traverses the same segment "comfortably" at 30 km/h (perceived by this particular driver as comfortable). As Vehicle 2, in this particular example, is heavier than

Vehicle 1 a simple formula such as x = speed of vehicle 1 * weight of vehicle 2 / weight of vehicle 1 may give the recommended speed for Vehicle 2.

The database 2 may be external to the entity 3, or be an integrated part of the entity 3. The vehicle profile may comprise a vehicle identification, e.g. vehicle brand and/or model, an area identification, e.g. geographical position data such as longitude and latitude of a problematic road segment, driving instructions, e.g. recommended speed, a driver rating that rates a previously provided driving instruction related to the area identification.

The method 10 comprises generating 13 driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile. For instance, and as explained earlier, if the first road segment is bumpy, then the driving instruction may be a particular speed at which the bumpiness of the road does not pose discomfort or a safety risk for the driver of the identified vehicle.

The method 10 comprises providing 14 the driving instructions to the device 5 in the vehicle 4. The driving instruction maybe provided to a wireless device of the driver, e.g. a mobile phone, an output device (display and/ or sound) of the vehicle 4, or to an actuator of the vehicle 4. As a particular example, an actuator controlling the suspension system of the vehicle 4 may receive the driving instruction comprising a setting of the suspension system.

The method 10 enables an improved driving experience to vehicles. Information about problematic road segments that has been captured e.g. by high-end vehicles may be reused by low-end vehicles and thereby improve the driving experience of the latter vehicle. Further, warnings can be generated about upcoming problematic road segments or suggestions of alternative routes.

In an embodiment, the obtained vehicle profile comprises previously provided driving instructions for the traversing of the first road segment. In this embodiment, the generating 13 driving instructions comprises selecting driving instructions for the identified vehicle 4 to be equal to the driving instructions of the obtained vehicle profile.

The knowledge of the behavior of a vehicle that has previously traversed the problematic road segment is thus taken advantage of. If the vehicle that has previously traversed the road is similar or identical to the current vehicle, the earlier driving instructions are likely to be applicable to and suitable for also for the current vehicle.

In various embodiments, the driving instructions comprise a recommended speed and/or a particular lane of the first road segment and/or settings for a suspension system of the identified vehicle 4.

In an embodiment, the obtaining 12, from a database 2, a vehicle profile comprises comparing vehicle data for the identified vehicle 4 with vehicle data of vehicle profiles in the database and selecting a vehicle profile having vehicle data identical or similar to the vehicle data for the identified vehicle 4 or differing from the vehicle data for the identified vehicle 4 less than a threshold difference.

In a variation of the above embodiment, the vehicle profile comprises a driver rating on the previously provided driving instructions, and the obtaining 12 comprises, for the case that there are two or more vehicle profiles having identical vehicle data, selecting the vehicle profile having the highest driver rating.

In various other embodiments, the vehicle data comprises one or more of: vehicle type, vehicle brand, vehicle model, vehicle weight, vehicle orientation, vehicle location, current total weight of the vehicle 4, number of passengers, locations in the vehicle 4 of passengers. The entity 3 may also obtain dynamic information from the vehicle 4, e.g. number of passengers, weight of passengers in the vehicle 4. The dynamic information maybe obtained e.g. by the device 5 of the vehicle 4 pushing such information to the entity 3, or by the entity 3 polling for such information. Having such dynamic information enables an improved adjustment of the driving instructions. The driving instructions may be adjusted in view of the particular situation of the vehicle 4, e.g. currently having four passengers and thus a higher total weight than data obtained for an identical/similar vehicle. The driving instructions may then be based on the obtained data but fine-tuned to this current total weight of the vehicle.

In an embodiment, the establishing 11 comprises receiving a request for driving instructions for the first road segment from the identified vehicle 4 upon the identified vehicle 4 approaching the first road segment.

In an embodiment, the method 10 comprises, prior to the establishing 11, identifying, based on information from one or more vehicles, position data for the first road segment and data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy and the establishing 11 comprises receiving from the identified vehicle 4 position data indicating that the identified vehicle 4 is approaching the first road segment.

In an embodiment, the method 10 comprises receiving from the identified vehicle 4 a driver rating on the provided driving instructions and updating the obtained vehicle profile of the database 2 by updating a driver rating thereof to reflect the received driver rating.

It is noted that also other type of data, besides driver ratings, can be collected and stored. To collect and store data captured by vehicles provides many advantages and opportunities. For instance, information on road quality may be used for improved planning and scheduling of road maintenance and for identifying the extent of road maintenances. As a particular example on this, small bumps on the road may be tolerated or patched slightly while more bumpy roads may require more extensive road maintenance and e.g. involve shutting down traffic in a particular area for a period of time while performing the maintenance.

In a particular embodiment, the first road segment is a bumpy road segment.

Figure 5 illustrates schematically nodes of a system 1, a system 1 and means for implementing embodiments of a method of the present disclosure. The various embodiments of the method 10 as described e.g. in relation to figure 4 maybe implemented in an entity 3, e.g. the profile adaptation entity of the system 1, and/ or the RVPD 2, as described in relation to figure l. In other embodiments, methods may be implemented in the system l, which is described later with reference to figures 7 and 8.

The entity 3 comprises a processor 20 comprising any combination of one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit etc. capable of executing software instructions stored in a memory 21, which can thus be a computer program product 21. The processor 20 can be configured to execute any of the various embodiments of the method for instance as described in relation to figure 4.

The memory 21 can be any combination of read and write memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM), Flash memory, magnetic tape, Compact Disc (CD)-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc etc. The memory 21 also comprises persistent storage, which, for example, can be any single one or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid state memory or even remotely mounted memory.

A data memory 24 may also be provided for reading and/ or storing data during execution of software instructions in the processor 20. The data memory 24 can for instance be any combination of random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM).

The entity 3 may also comprise an input/ output device 23 (indicated by 1/ O in the figure 5) for communicating with other entities. Such input/output device 23 may for instance comprise a communication interface. The input/ output device 23 may communicate wirelessly with the vehicles 4, 6 or be a wired connection to a radio network node directly or via additional network nodes. The radio network node in turn communicates wirelessly with the vehicles 4, 6.

Figure 5 also illustrates the RVPD 2 and a first vehicle 4 and a second vehicle 6. Each vehicle may comprise a device 5, 7 as described earlier with reference to figure 1. The RVPD 2 may comprise a processor 25 and computer program product 26 comprising one or more computer programs 27.

The processor 25 may comprise any combination of one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), multiprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor (DSP), application specific integrated circuit etc. capable of executing software instructions stored in a memory 21, which can thus be a computer program product 26. The processor 25 can be configured to execute any of the various embodiments of the method for instance as described in relation to figure 4.

The memory 26 can be any combination of read and write memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM), Flash memory, magnetic tape, Compact Disc (CD)-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray disc etc. The memory 26 also comprises persistent storage, which, for example, can be any single one or combination of magnetic memory, optical memory, solid state memory or even remotely mounted memory.

A data memory (not illustrated) may also be provided for reading and/ or storing data during execution of software instructions in the processor 25. Such data memory can for instance be any combination of random access memory (RAM) and read only memory (ROM).

An entity 3 for providing driving instructions to a device 5 in a vehicle 4 is provided. The entity 3 is configured to:

- establish that an identified vehicle 4 is approaching a first road segment,

- obtain, from a database 2, a vehicle profile for a vehicle identical or similar to the identified vehicle 4,

- generate driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile, and

- provide the driving instructions to the device 5 in the vehicle 4.

The entity 3 maybe configured to perform the above steps e.g. by comprising a processor 20 and memory 21, the memory 21 containing instructions executable by the processor 20, whereby the entity 3 is operative to perform the steps.

In an embodiment, the obtained vehicle profile comprises previously provided driving instructions for the traversing of the first road segment and wherein the entity 3 is configured to generate driving instructions by selecting driving instructions for the identified vehicle 4 to be equal to the driving instructions of the obtained vehicle profile.

In an embodiment, the driving instructions comprise a recommended speed and/or a particular lane of the first road segment and/ or settings for a suspension system of the identified vehicle 4.

In an embodiment, the entity 3 is configured to obtain, from a database 2, a vehicle profile by comparing vehicle data for the identified vehicle 4 with vehicle data of vehicle profiles in the database and selecting a vehicle profile having vehicle data identical or similar to the vehicle data for the identified vehicle 4 or differing from the vehicle data for the identified vehicle 4 less than a threshold difference.

In a variation of the above embodiment, the vehicle profile comprises a driver rating on the previously provided driving instructions, and the entity 3 is configured to obtain by, for the case that there are two or more vehicle profiles having identical vehicle data, selecting the vehicle profile having the highest driver rating.

In various embodiments, the vehicle data comprises one or more of: vehicle type, vehicle brand, vehicle model, vehicle weight, vehicle orientation, vehicle location, current total weight of the vehicle 4, number of passengers, locations in the vehicle 4 of passengers.

In an embodiment, the entity 3 is configured to establish by receiving a request for driving instructions for the first road segment from the identified vehicle 4 upon the identified vehicle 4 approaching the first road segment.

In an embodiment, the entity 3 is configured to, prior to the establishing, identify based on information from one or more vehicles, position data for the first road segment and data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy and configured to establish by receiving from the identified vehicle 4 position data indicating that the identified vehicle 4 is approaching the first road segment.

In an embodiment, the entity 3 is configured to receive from the identified vehicle 4 a driver rating on the provided driving instructions and update the obtained vehicle profile of the database 2 by updating a driver rating thereof to reflect the received driver rating. In various embodiments, the first road segment is a bumpy road segment.

The present disclosure also encompasses a computer program product 21 comprising a computer program 22 for implementing the embodiments of the method as described, and a computer readable means on which the computer program 22 is stored. The computer program product 21 may, as mentioned earlier, be any combination of random access memory (RAM) or read only memory (ROM), Flash memory, magnetic tape, Compact Disc (CD)-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu- ray disc etc.

The present disclosure thus comprises a computer program 22 for a entity 3 for providing driving instructions to a device 5 in a vehicle 4. The computer program 22 comprises computer program code, which, when executed on at least one processor on the entity 3 causes the entity 3 to perform the method 10 according to any of the described embodiments thereof.

A computer program product 21 comprising a computer program 22 as described above and a computer readable means on which the computer program 22 is stored is also provided.

The computer program product, or the memory, thus comprises instructions executable by the processor 20. Such instructions maybe comprised in a computer program, or in one or more software modules or function modules.

Figure 6 illustrates a network node comprising function modules/ software modules for implementing embodiments of a method of the present disclosure.

The entity 3 comprises first means 31, for example a first function module, for establishing that an identified vehicle is approaching a first road segment. Such first means 31 may comprise processing circuitry for receiving data and/or processing circuitry for establishing a vehicle approaching a first road segment.

The entity 3 comprises second means 32, for example a second function module, for obtaining, from a database, a vehicle profile for a vehicle identical or similar to the identified vehicle. Such second means 32 may comprise processing circuitry adapted to obtain data, e.g. vehicle profiles, from a data base. The processing circuitry may be adapted to poll such data and/ or adapted to receive pushed data. The entity 3 comprises third means 33, for instance a third function module, for generating driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile. Such third means 33 may comprise processing circuitry adapted to generate driving instructions.

The entity 3 comprises fourth means 34, for instance a fourth function module, for providing the driving instructions to the device in the vehicle. Such fourth means 34 may comprise transmitting circuitry for transmitting the driving instructions to the device, directly or via other nodes. Such transmitting circuitry may be adapted for wireless communication and/or wired communication.

The entity 3 may comprise yet additional means (not illustrated) for implementing any of the various embodiments that have been described.

The means 31, 32, 33, 34, e.g. function modules, can be implemented using software instructions such as computer program executing in a processor and/or using hardware, such as application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, discrete logical components etc., or any combination thereof.

Figure 5, described earlier, also illustrates the system 1 described in relation to figure 1 in a schematic way. In an aspect, the present disclosure provides a method in a system 1 for providing driving instructions to a device in a vehicle.

Figure 7 illustrates a flow chart over steps of such a method 40 in a system 1 in accordance with the present disclosure.

The method 40 for providing driving instructions to a device 5 in a vehicle 4 is performed in a system 1, such as the system 1 described in relation to figures 1 and 5. The method 40 comprises:

- receiving 41, from an identified first vehicle:

- geographical position data for a first road segment,

- data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy, and

- driving data of the identified first vehicle,

- updating 42 a vehicle profile of a database 2 based on the received information, - receiving 43 an indication that an identified second vehicle 4, being a vehicle identical or similar to the identified first vehicle, is approaching the first road segment,

- obtaining 44, from the database 2, a vehicle profile for the identified first vehicle,

- generating 45 driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile, and

- providing 46 the driving instructions to a device 7 in the identified second vehicle 4.

The method 40 may be performed in a distributed fashion, wherein different functions/steps are performed by different devices. As a particular example, all the above steps maybe performed in the profile adaptation entity 3, i.e. the receiving 41 information from the identified first vehicle, the updating 42 a vehicle profile and the receiving 43 an indication that an identified second vehicle 4 is approaching the first road segment, the obtaining 44 a vehicle profile and the generating 45 driving instructions and providing 46. In other embodiments, some steps maybe performed in a local node, in the vicinity of the problematic road segment, while remaining steps maybe performed in a central node (e.g. the profile adaptation entity 3). Such local nodes are then interconnected with the central node and able to exchange

information with each other. In still other embodiments, some steps may be performed in the RVPD 2, in particular a processor 25 thereof, and/or in the vehicle, e.g. in a device 5, 7 thereof. For instance, the vehicle 4, 6 may comprise the profile adaptation entity 3 and cache in a memory road segment profile information and generate driving instructions locally in the vehicle.

In an embodiment of the method 40, the driving data comprises speed and the driving instructions comprise a recommended speed.

The steps of the various embodiments of the method 10 described with reference to figure 4 maybe performed also in this method 40.

The method 40 may thus be implemented in a distributed fashion e.g. by software instructions run on one or more processors 20, 25, wherein different functions may be implemented as different sets of software instructions. In case of several processors 20, 25 being arranged to perform a method 40 in the system 1, corresponding to the method 10 as have been described, these processors 20, 25 are operatively interconnected, and e.g. able to exchange information. The RVPD 2, comprising a first processor 25, may comprise a memory 26 and computer program 27 for performing its dedicated steps of the method 40. Correspondingly, the profile database node 4 comprising a second processor 20 and memory 21 and computer program 22 for performing its dedicated steps of the method 40.

The present disclosure also comprises a system 1 for providing driving instructions to a device 5 in a vehicle 4. The system 1 is configured to:

- receive, from an identified first vehicle 4:

- geographical position data for a first road segment,

- data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy, and

- driving data of the identified first vehicle,

- update a vehicle profile of a database 2 based on the received information,

- receive an indication that an identified second vehicle 5, being a vehicle identical or similar to the identified first vehicle 4, is approaching the first road segment,

- obtain, from the database 2, a vehicle profile for the identified first vehicle 4,

- generate driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile, and

- provide the driving instructions to a device 7 in the identified second vehicle 4.

The system 1 may be configured to perform the above steps e.g. by comprising one or more processors 20, 25 and memory 21, 26, the memory 21, 26 containing

instructions executable by the processors 20, 25, whereby the system 1 is operative to perform the steps.

In an embodiment, the driving data comprises speed and the driving instructions comprise a recommended speed. The present disclosure also encompasses computer program products 21, 26 comprising computer programs 22, 27 for implementing the embodiments of the method 40 as described, and a computer readable means on which the computer programs 22, 27 are stored. The computer program products 21, 26 maybe any combination of random access memory (RAM) or read only memory (ROM), Flash memory, magnetic tape, Compact Disc (CD)-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu- ray disc etc.

The present disclosure thus comprises computer programs 22, 27 for a system 1 for providing driving instructions to a device 5 in a vehicle 4. The computer programs 22, 27 comprise computer program code, which, when executed on at least one processor of the system 1 causes the system 1 to perform the method 40 according to any of the described embodiments thereof.

Computer program products 21, 26 comprising a computer programs 22, 27 as described above and a computer readable means on which the computer programs 22, 27 are stored is also provided.

The computer program product, or the memory, thus comprises instructions executable by one or more processors 20, 25. Such instructions maybe comprised in a computer program, or in one or more software modules or function modules.

Figure 8 illustrates an example of an implementation of the system 1 using function modules and/ or software modules. In particular, figure 8 illustrates schematically the system 1 comprising first means 51, e.g. a function module, for receiving from an identified first vehicle:

- geographical position data for a first road segment,

- data indicating the first road segment to be bumpy, and

- driving data of the identified first vehicle.

Such first means 51 may for instance comprise receiving circuitry, and antenna devices or communication cables.

The system 1 comprises second means, for example second function module, for updating a vehicle profile of a database based on the received information. Such second means may for instance comprise processing circuitry adapted to performing such updating.

The system l comprises third means 53, for example third function module, for receiving an indication that an identified second vehicle, being a vehicle identical or similar to the identified first vehicle, is approaching the first road segment. Such third means 53 may for instance comprise receiving circuitry, and antenna devices or communication cables.

The system 1 comprises fourth means 54, for example fourth function module, for obtaining, from the database, a vehicle profile for the identified first vehicle. Such fourth means 54 may comprise processing circuitry adapted to obtain information from a database.

The system 1 comprises fifth means 55, for example fifth function module, for generating driving instructions for traversing the first road segment based on the obtained vehicle profile. Such fifth means 55 may for instance comprise processing circuitry adapted to generate such driving instructions based on a vehicle profile.

The system 1 comprises sixth means 56, for example a sixth function module, for providing the driving instructions to a device in the identified second vehicle. Such sixth means 56 may for instance comprise transmitting circuitry, and antenna devices or communication cables.

It is noted that the first means 51 and the third means 53 could be the same, i.e. the system may comprise a single means for receiving.

An advantage of the present disclosure, as have been mentioned earlier, is that a better driving experience can be offered to low-end vehicles, re-using information about road segments that have been captured by high-end vehicles. A few other advantages that can be achieved are listed in the following:

1. The information of road quality can be communicated directly to department of a city handling road maintenance. Such information can be used in various ways, for instance to better determine how to schedule road maintenance and also to identify the extent of the road maintenance. As an example small bumps on the road maybe tolerated or patched slightly while bigger bumps may require shutting down traffic in a particular area for the period of time required for the maintenance.

2. Another advantage comprises the possibility to generate routes that minimize the amount of road segments that have bumps, thus avoiding damages in the vehicle. The generation of routes may include fine grained route directions even on a multilane highway where most conventional navigation solutions typically provide simple entry and exit instructions. Using the teachings of the present disclosure enables providing to the driver recommendations about which lane to stay in/ change to in order to avoid the problematic road segment for a target speed. For example, if the driver would like to use a particular lane (e.g. fastest lane) to go e.g. i8okm/h and there is a bump approaching, the navigation system could suggest the driver to change lanes to a slower one and then change back to the fastest one after having passed the problematic road segment.

3. Warnings maybe generated on the fly when a vehicle is approaching a bump. In particular when the weather is rainy, or if the road segment is not illuminated properly, such bumps may be invisible. By using the teachings of the present disclosure, a warning can be generated prompting the driver about the upcoming bump and perhaps suggesting a decrease in speed, thus minimizing potential damage to the vehicle and potential disturbance to nearby pedestrians (e.g. if the road segment comprises holes located close to a sidewalk and being filled with water).

4. Some vehicles already have "smart suspensions" which in practice is a combination between an accelerometer and suspension. Such devices regulate how hard or soft the suspension is, taking into consideration the fluctuation of the suspension as indicated by the accelerometer, so on a very bumpy road the suspension would be "soft" while in a less bumpy (i.e. better) road it will be harder. However, in such a scenario the vehicle has to be on the bumpy road for the calibration to take place. By using the teachings of the present disclosure, information about the bumpiness of a road can be communicated to the vehicle, e.g. via the cloud, assuming that another vehicle has used the same road segment in the past, thus adjusting the suspension in advance before the vehicle enters the bumpy segment.

The invention has mainly been described herein with reference to a few

embodiments. However, as is appreciated by a person skilled in the art, other embodiments than the particular ones disclosed herein are equally possible within the scope of the invention, as defined by the appended patent claims.