PRODUCT

Road Surface Conditions

High-resolution, real-time road condition data for safer, more adaptive driving.

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What is Road Surface Conditions by NIRA?

Road conditions directly impact how vehicles perform. From grip and braking to stability to energy efficiency, these can change rapidly across a network.

Road Surface Conditions (RSC) by NIRA is a data service that provides real-time information on road grip, surface quality, and weather conditions across entire road networks, based on direct measurements from connected vehicles.

Using data from more than two million connected vehicles, including partner fleets such as the Volkswagen Group, RSC continuously measures conditions in 25-meter segments, covering both high and low friction, not just extreme events. This creates a complete understanding of the road, enabling both adaptive driving functions and more advanced automated driving.

By combining vehicle measurements with external data sources, RSC delivers a continuously updated view of the road. This enables vehicles and applications to respond to actual conditions, improving ADAS performance, supporting the expansion of automated driving, optimizing navigation decisions, and enhancing electric vehicle efficiency.

Delivering real-time road intelligence from real-world connected vehicle data

Road Surface Conditions is built on a continuous flow of data, captured from connected vehicles, refined through data fusion, and delivered where it matters.

Step 1: Real-world data from connected vehicles
Data is continuously collected from connected vehicles as they move through the road network. Tire-road interaction provides direct insight into grip levels and road roughness, forming the foundation for accurate road condition intelligence. 

Step 2: Road intelligence layers
NIRA processes and transforms the data into specialized map layers, each designed for specific use cases such as ADAS, navigation, and EV optimization. 

Step 3: Seamless system integration
The data is integrated into customer systems, enabling continuous, condition-aware decisions in vehicles and applications. 

Road Surface Conditions:
Built for software defined vehicles

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ADAS
Improves ACC, curve assist, and all-wheel drive with real-time grip data. 
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ODD Expansion 

Supports safe expansion of the Operational Design Domain through road condition insight. 
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Navigation

Optimizes routing using real-time surface and weather data.
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Electric Vehicles

Enhances range and regenerative braking based on actual grip conditions. 

Use cases: Where NIRA’s Road Surface Conditions makes the difference

Road Surface Conditions enables a new generation of intelligent, adaptive vehicle systems for OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and developers.

For automotive OEMs:

  • Dynamic ADAS functions: Improve adaptive cruise control, curve assist, automatic emergency braking and all-wheel drive with continuous grip data. This enables the vehicle to respond better to actual road conditions. 

  • ODD expansion: Expand the Operational Design Domain using real-time insight into grip, surface quality, and weather conditions, enabling automated functions such as highway pilot to operate reliably in more conditions.  

  • Navigation optimization: Optimize routing using up-to-date insight into surface and weather conditions, enabling decisions based on actual road conditions rather than traffic alone.
     
  • EV optimization: Enhance electric vehicle, safety and driving experience with regenerative braking and energy strategies that adapt to actual grip and surface conditions. 

For Tier 1 suppliers & application developers:

  • Intelligent navigation systems: Enable routing and ETA calculations based on real-time road conditions such as grip and surface quality, going beyond traditional traffic-based navigation. 

  • Advanced safety applications: Develop next-generation safety systems that leverage real-time data on road grip, surface conditions, and weather to enable earlier and more reliable interventions in critical situations. 

  • Autonomous driving platforms: Integrate Road Surface Condition data into autonomous driving stacks to improve decision-making and increase safety margins.  


 

What makes NIRA’s Road Surface Conditions data unique?

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Data producer

In-vehicle software enables direct access to high-frequency signals (50–100 Hz) with end-to-end validated data. 
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Large-scale connected vehicle network
Millions of connected vehicles, including fleets from partners such as the Volkswagen Group, provide broad coverage and continuous updates.
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Unique friction measurement
Measures real tire-to-road friction based on experienced conditions, delivering near-continuous friction coefficients across both low and high friction scenarios.
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High-resolution, continuously updated data
Road conditions are updated every 10 minutes and mapped in 25-meter segments, with extended coverage through weather data and external sources.

Download the Road Surface Conditions Product Guide

Download the product guide to explore how Road Surface Conditions work
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Road Surface Conditions - in a minute

Combining vehicle data and road weather models for next generation ADAS and safety applications.
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Q&A

Frequently Asked Questions about Road Surface Conditions (RSC): 
What is Road Surface Conditions (RSC)?

Road Surface Conditions is a real time data service that provides information about road grip, surface quality, and weather conditions. It delivers condition aware intelligence to advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving functions, enabling vehicles to adapt to actual road properties.
How does Road Surface Conditions work?

Road Surface Conditions uses multi source data fusion. It combines data from connected vehicles, road weather information systems, radar and satellite imagery, and weather forecasts. The data is analysed in real time to generate accurate road surface and grip insights across entire road networks.
What makes Road Surface Conditions different from traditional vehicle sensors?

Traditional systems rely on sensors within a single vehicle. Road Surface Conditions aggregates data from millions of connected vehicles and infrastructure sources to provide a broader and continuously updated picture of road conditions beyond the vehicle’s immediate surroundings.
What vehicle functions can Road Surface Conditions enable?

Road Surface Conditions supports dynamic, condition aware vehicle functions including:

• Adaptive cruise control

• Automatic emergency braking

• Curve assist

• Highway pilot

• Regenerative braking

• Four wheel drive activation

These systems can adapt based on real road grip and surface conditions rather than theoretical assumptions.
Does Road Surface Conditions support SAE Level 2 and automated driving?

Yes. Road Surface Conditions is designed to enable dynamic advanced driver assistance systems at SAE Level 2 and beyond by providing verified road condition context to automated driving systems.
How does Road Surface Conditions improve safety?

By delivering real time road grip and surface data, Road Surface Conditions allows vehicle systems to adjust speed, braking, and traction according to actual conditions. This helps reduce risk in low grip or rough surface situations.
Can Road Surface Conditions support electric vehicle optimization?

Yes. Road Surface Conditions enables regenerative braking and energy management strategies that adapt to real road grip and surface conditions, supporting improved efficiency and driving experience in electric vehicles.
Who is Road Surface Conditions designed for?

Road Surface Conditions is built for automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and application developers who want to integrate real time road condition intelligence into advanced driver assistance systems, navigation systems, safety applications, and automated driving platforms.
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