METHOD FOR PREDICTING THE SPEED OF A DRIVER DRIVING A VEHICLE

1 - 11 . (canceled)

12 : A prediction method for predicting a speed of a driver driving a vehicle relative to a road, the method comprising steps of:

measuring a speed of the driver in a first driving area to obtain a measured speed;

comparing the measured speed with a set of speed profiles to obtain a comparison result, each of the speed profiles corresponding to a predetermined category of driver;

based on the comparison result, selecting a relevant category for the driver; and

predicting a speed of the driver in a second driving area based on a reference profile corresponding to the relevant category selected for the driver.

13 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , further comprising steps of:

determining a distance from a profile of the driver to the reference profile corresponding to the relevant category selected for the driver, and

correcting the speed predicted in the predicting step based on the distance determined in the determining step.

14 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , further comprising steps of:

measuring an acceleration of the driver relative to the road in the first driving area to obtain a measured acceleration, and

utilizing the measured acceleration in the selecting step to select the relevant category for the driver.

15 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , wherein the predicting step includes assigning a profile speed of the selected category for the driver in the second driving area.

16 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , wherein the predicting step includes predicting a speed at a number of finite points of the second driving area and making approximations between the points.

17 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , further comprising a step of correcting the speed predicted in the predicting step based on one or more external parameters.

18 : The prediction method according to claim 17 , wherein the external parameters include meteorological parameters, parameters concerning a state of the road, parameters concerning motor traffic, and parameters concerning the vehicle.

19 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , further comprising a step of transmitting the speed predicted in the predicting step to a driver assistance device installed in the vehicle.

20 : The prediction method according to claim 12 , further comprising a step of transmitting the speed predicted in the predicting step to at least one of: a display and a warning device on the vehicle and available to the driver.

21 : A method for determining speed profiles used to predict a driver speed of a driver driving a vehicle relative to a road, in which each of the speed profiles corresponds to a predetermined category of driver and in which the driver speed is predicted by measuring a speed of the driver in a first driving area to obtain a measured speed, comparing the measured speed with a set of the speed profiles to obtain a comparison result, selecting a relevant category for the driver based on the comparison result, and predicting the driver speed in a second driving area based on a reference profile corresponding to the category selected for the driver, the method comprising steps of:

acquiring data representative of a driving speed of a group of drivers in a predefined driving area, each of the drivers being considered as an individual;

classifying the individuals hierarchically by dividing the drivers into a number of classes defined based on the data; and

determining a profile speed for each of the classes.

22 : The method for determining speed profiles according to claim 21 , wherein the classifying step is performed by using a portion of the data selected from observations made in predetermined relevant driving areas.