Method and device for warning other road users in response to a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction

1. A method for warning other road users in response to a vehicle traveling in a wrong direction, the method comprising:

advance detecting of a wrong-way travel potential of a possible instance of wrong-way travel of the vehicle;

setting up a communication path to at least one road user endangered by the instance of wrong-way travel, if the wrong-way travel potential is greater than an advance warning value, wherein the communication path is kept open until there is no longer a probability of wrong-the way travel, and wherein if there is a possibility of wrong-way travel, the communication path is set up by a communications infrastructure, but it is not yet used;

detecting the instance of wrong-way travel of the vehicle;

providing an information item about the instance of wrong-way travel for the endangered road user via the communication path set up, if the possible instance of wrong-way travel is detected as an actual instance of wrong-way travel; and

removing the communication path if at least one of: (i) the wrong-way travel potential is less than the advance warning value, and (ii) no actual instance of wrong-way travel is detected.

2. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein in at least one of the advance detecting and the detecting the instance, at least one of the wrong-way travel potential and the actual instance of wrong-way travel, respectfully, are determined, using a comparison between (i) at least one of an ascertained vehicle position and a movement trajectory of the vehicle, and (ii) map data.

3. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein in at least one of the advance detecting and the detecting the instance, the movement trajectory is predicted into the future, using at least one filter.

4. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein in at least one of the advance detecting and the detecting the instance, the movement trajectory is determined, using at least one of a vehicle motion model of the vehicle and an inertial sensor system of the vehicle.

5. The method as recited in claim 2 , wherein in at least one of the advance detecting and the detecting the instance, at least one of the wrong-way travel potential and the actual instance of wrong-way travel, respectively, are determined, using a surround sensor system of the vehicle.

6. The method as recited in claim 1 , wherein in the advance detecting and the detecting the instance, the wrong-way travel potential and the actual instance of wrong-way travel, respectively, are determined, using the same detection method.

7. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein in the setting-up, a recording is also started, if the wrong-way travel potential is greater than the advance warning value.

8. A system for warning other road users in response to a vehicle traveling in a wrong direction,

a system arrangement configured to perform the following:

detecting in advance a wrong-way travel potential of a possible instance of wrong-way travel of the vehicle;

setting up a communication path to at least one road user endangered by the instance of wrong-way travel, if the wrong-way travel potential is greater than an advance warning value, wherein the communication path is kept open until there is no longer a probability of wrong-the way travel, and wherein if there is a possibility of wrong-way travel, the communication path is set up by a communications infrastructure, but it is not yet used;

detecting the instance of wrong-way travel of the vehicle;

providing an information item about the instance of wrong-way travel for the endangered road user via the communication path set up, if the possible instance of wrong-way travel is detected as an actual instance of wrong-way travel; and

removing the communication path if at least one of: (i) the wrong-way travel potential is less than the advance warning value, and (ii) no actual instance of wrong-way travel is detected.

9. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having a computer program, which is executable by a processor, comprising:

a program code arrangement having program code for warning other road users in response to a vehicle traveling in a wrong direction, by performing the following:

advance detecting, via the processor, of a wrong-way travel potential of a possible instance of wrong-way travel of the vehicle;

setting up, via the processor, a communication path to at least one road user endangered by the instance of wrong-way travel, if the wrong-way travel potential is greater than an advance warning value, wherein the communication path is kept open until there is no longer a probability of wrong-the way travel, and wherein if there is a possibility of wrong-way travel, the communication path is set up by a communications infrastructure, but it is not yet used;

detecting, via the processor, the instance of wrong-way travel of the vehicle;

providing, via the processor, an information item about the instance of wrong-way travel for the endangered road user via the communication path set up, if the possible instance of wrong-way travel is detected as an actual instance of wrong-way travel; and

removing the communication path if at least one of: (i) the wrong-way travel potential is less than the advance warning value, and (ii) no actual instance of wrong-way travel is detected.