Bosch launches road condition alert service for self-driving vehicles

Today, Bosch has introduced a predictive road condition service that can help make sure self-driving vehicles remain safe even on wet and icy roads. The company says the technology can give automated vehicles that seat-of-the-pants feel -- you know that sensation when you're on the driver's seat that tells you the road's condition? Bosch management board member Dr. Dirk Hoheisel says the service can alert AVs to hazards "before critical situations can develop." The technology takes multiple possible weather forecast scenarios from Finnish company Foreca into consideration, so a vehicle that uses it knows how and where it can drive autonomously. Bosch says this can prevent vehicles from having to hand over controls to a human driver at the first sign of poor road conditions.