Patent Publication Number: US-10783782-B1

Title: Vehicle management

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Embodiments of the present invention relate to processing information, and more specifically, to a computer-implemented method, device and computer program product facilitating vehicle management. 
     SUMMARY 
     Knowledge of a condition of a road section is essential for drivers who wish to travel to that road section. Such knowledge can facilitate the drivers in selecting traveling routes, avoiding congested road sections, saving time traveling, improving safety in traveling, and so on. However, generally, the condition of a road section, also referred to as the road condition, provided by current web map services, are inaccurate and coarse-grained. As such, it is difficult for the drivers to better understand the actual road conditions, and to make better decisions. Thus, providing an accurate and fine-grained web map service becomes a challenge. 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a computer-implemented method of managing a vehicle. The computer-implemented method comprises: determining, by a device operatively coupled to one or more processing units, a potential road section associated with a current road section on which a first vehicle is moving, the potential road section being a road section to which the first vehicle potentially moves from the current road section; obtaining, by the device, a road condition of the potential road section, the road condition being generated at least based on monitoring records of a second vehicle moving on the potential road section; and in response to the road condition indicating that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving on, transmitting, by the device, an alert about the potential road section to the first vehicle. 
     In another embodiment, a device, comprises: a memory that stores computer executable components; and a processing unit operably coupled to the memory, and that executes the computer executable components stored in the memory. The computer executable components comprise at least one computer-executable component that: determines a potential road section associated with a current road section on which a first vehicle is moving, the potential road section being a road section to which the first vehicle potentially moves from the current road section; obtains a road condition of the potential road section, the road condition being generated at least based on monitoring records of a second vehicle moving on the potential road section; and in response to the road condition indicating that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving on, transmits an alert about the potential road section to the first vehicle. 
     In another embodiment, a computer program product facilitating displaying messages based on categories related to message importance is provided. The computer program product comprises a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to: determine, by the one or more processors, a potential road section associated with a current road section on which a first vehicle is moving, the potential road section being a road section to which the first vehicle potentially moves from the current road section; obtain, by the one or more processors, a road condition of the potential road section, the road condition being generated at least based on monitoring records of a second vehicle moving on the potential road section; and in response to the road condition indicating that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving on, transmit, by the one or more processors, an alert about the potential road section to the first vehicle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the invention in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent, wherein the same reference generally refers to the same components in the embodiments of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  depicts a schematic diagram of an example vehicle management environment according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  depicts a flow chart of an example computer-implemented method of managing a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  depicts a schematic diagram of a plurality of positions of the vehicle during moving according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  depicts a schematic diagram of a road section on which a vehicle is moving according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  depicts a flow chart of an example computer-implemented method of determining a road condition according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  depicts a schematic diagram of a plurality of positions of a further vehicle during moving according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  depicts a schematic diagram of a road section on which the further vehicle is moving according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     Throughout the drawings, same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Some embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the embodiments of the invention have been illustrated. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in various manners, and thus should not be construed to be limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. 
     As used herein, the term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open ended terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to.” The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on.” The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment.” The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment.” Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below. 
     It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather, embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed. 
     Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five characteristics, at least three service models, and at least four deployment models. 
     Characteristics are as follows: 
     On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provision computing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically without requiring human interaction with the service&#39;s provider. 
     Broad section network access: capabilities are available over a network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs). 
     Resource pooling: the provider&#39;s computing resources are pooled to serve multiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according to demand There is a sense of location independence in that the consumer generally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of the provided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter). 
     Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out and rapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilities available for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can be purchased in any quantity at any time. 
     Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both the provider and consumer of the utilized service. 
     Service Models are as follows: 
     Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider&#39;s applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through a thin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail). The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. 
     Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly application hosting environment configurations. 
     Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networking components (e.g., host firewalls). 
     Deployment Models are as follows: 
     Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for an organization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. 
     Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by several organizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and compliance considerations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third party and may exist on-premises or off-premises. 
     Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the general public or a large industry group and is owned by an organization selling cloud services. 
     Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or more clouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities but are bound together by standardized or proprietary technology that enables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds). 
     A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability. At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes a network of interconnected nodes. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a schematic of an example of a cloud computing node is shown. Cloud computing node  10  is only one example of a suitable cloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the invention described herein. Regardless, cloud computing node  10  is capable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forth hereinabove. 
     In cloud computing node  10  there is a computer system/server  12  or a portable electronic device such as a communication device, which is operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use with computer system/server  12  include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments that include any of the above systems or devices, and the like. 
     Computer system/server  12  may be described in the general context of computer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer system. Generally, program modules may include routines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Computer system/server  12  may be practiced in distributed cloud computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer system storage media including memory storage devices. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , computer system/server  12  in cloud computing node  10  is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of computer system/server  12  may include, but are not limited to, one or more processors or processing units  16 , a system memory  28 , and a bus  18  that couples various system components including system memory  28  to processor  16 . 
     Bus  18  represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an accelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation, such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. 
     Computer system/server  12  typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessible by computer system/server  12 , and it includes both volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. 
     System memory  28  can include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM)  30  and/or cache memory  32 . Computer system/server  12  may further include other removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storage media. By way of example only, storage system  34  can be provided for reading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media (not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, a magnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable, non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical disk drive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided. In such instances, each can be connected to bus  18  by one or more data media interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below, memory  28  may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of embodiments of the invention. 
     Program/utility  40 , having a set (at least one) of program modules  42 , may be stored in memory  28  by way of example, and not limitation, as well as an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data or some combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networking environment. Program modules  42  generally carry out the functions and/or methodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein. 
     Computer system/server  12  may also communicate with one or more external devices  14  such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display  24 , etc.; one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computer system/server  12 ; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.) that enable computer system/server  12  to communicate with one or more other computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output (I/O) interfaces  22 . Still yet, computer system/server  12  can communicate with one or more networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g., the Internet) via network adapter  20 . As depicted, network adapter  20  communicates with the other components of computer system/server  12  via bus  18 . It should be understood that although not shown, other hardware and/or software components could be used in conjunction with computer system/server  12 . Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , illustrative cloud computing environment  50  is depicted. As shown, cloud computing environment  50  includes one or more cloud computing nodes  10  with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA) or cellular telephone  54 A, desktop computer  54 B, laptop computer  54 C, and/or automobile computer system  54 N may communicate. Nodes  10  may communicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allows cloud computing environment  50  to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood that the types of computing devices  54 A-N shown in  FIG. 2  are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes  10  and cloud computing environment  50  can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a set of functional abstraction layers provided by cloud computing environment  50  ( FIG. 2 ) is shown. It should be understood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shown in  FIG. 3  are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of the invention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and corresponding functions are provided: 
     Hardware and software layer  60  includes hardware and software components. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes  61 ; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers  62 ; servers  63 ; blade servers  64 ; storage devices  65 ; and networks and networking components  66 . In some embodiments, software components include network application server software  67  and database software  68 . 
     Virtualization layer  70  provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers  71 ; virtual storage  72 ; virtual networks  73 , including virtual private networks; virtual applications and operating systems  74 ; and virtual clients  75 . 
     In one example, management layer  80  may provide the functions described below. Resource provisioning  81  provides dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing  82  provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example, these resources may include application software licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. User portal  83  provides access to the cloud computing environment for consumers and system administrators. Service level management  84  provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment  85  provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA. 
     Workloads layer  90  provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping and navigation  91 ; software development and lifecycle management  92 ; virtual classroom education delivery  93 ; data analytics processing  94 ; transaction processing  95 ; and vehicle managing  96 . 
     It should be noted that the processing of managing a vehicle or achieved by a device for managing a vehicle according to embodiments of this disclosure could be implemented by computer system/server  12  of  FIG. 1 . 
     As described above, the road conditions provided by the current web map services can be inaccurate and coarse-grained. For example, the current web map services generally use a limited number of colors to indicate limited types of road conditions. For example, “green” indicates a good road condition, and “red” indicates a poor road condition such as severe congestion. However, the drivers cannot know details of the actual road conditions by using the current web map services, and thus may not make optimal routing decisions. 
     For example, when an accident occurs on a road section, a driver may only be able to know from a web map service that the road section has a low level of congestion at an initial stage. However, the accident can be so severe that the accident eventually causes severe congestion at a later time. Unfortunately, the driver can be misled by the web map service at the initial stage and drive to that road section and encounter severe congestion. 
     In order to at least partially solve one or more of the above problems and other potential problems, example embodiments of the invention propose a solution for managing a vehicle. In the solution, a potential road section associated with a current road section on which a first vehicle is moving can be determined. The potential road section can be a road section to which the first vehicle potentially moves from the current road section. A road condition of the potential road section is obtained. The road condition can be generated at least based on monitoring records of a second vehicle moving on the potential road section. In response to the road condition indicating that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving on, an alert about the potential road section can be transmitted to the first vehicle. It is to be appreciated that an alert, in a non-limiting example, can be at least one of an audio, visual, textual, haptic, electronic notification, or any other suitable alert mechanism that is transmitted and/or presented to a recipient of the alert on a device associated with or in proximity to the recipient. 
     As such, the road condition of the potential road section can be determined accurately, and the driver can be informed of the actual condition of the potential road section in advance. In this case, it is possible for the driver to make a reasonable decision in selecting an optimal route based on the received alert, thus improving the traffic conditions and reducing the time cost. 
     Reference is now made to  FIG. 4 , which depicts a schematic diagram of an example vehicle management environment  400  according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 4 , a vehicle  410  participates in the vehicle management environment  400 . The vehicle  410  can be a car, a bus, a bicycle, a balance car or any appropriate vehicle that can facilitate the movement of the user. 
     The vehicle  410  can collect information, more specifically monitoring records, associated with the vehicle  410  when moving. The monitoring records can include, for example, a video  415  captured in association with movement of the vehicle  410 , a position of the vehicle  410  when capturing the video  415 , time when the vehicle  410  captures the video  415 , and the like. Vehicle  410  can employ an instrument (not shown) installed on vehicle  410  to automatically collect information as vehicle  410  is moving. Non-limiting examples of instruments installed on vehicle  410  can include a camera, a microphone, a speedometer, a crash sensor, a smoke detector, a temperature sensor, an air flow sensor, a radar system, a lidar system, a global positioning system sensor, an airbag sensor, a chemical sensor, or any suitable sensor that can be installed on a vehicle. 
     The vehicle  410  can provide the collected monitoring records to the computer system/server  12 . In some embodiments, the collected monitoring records can be stored locally in the computer system/server  12 , or remotely in a remote storage accessible by the computer system/server  12 . As such, the computer system/server  12  can use the stored monitoring records to assist another vehicle participating in the vehicle management environment  400  (for example, the vehicle  420 ). 
     The computer system/server  12  can determine a road section on which the vehicle  410  is moving, and further determine a road condition of the road section. The road section is a certain section of a road network of a map. For example, the computer system/server  12  can determine an identification of the road section, a direction of the road section, a congestion level of the road section, an offset of an accident (if any) occurred on the road section, and the like. 
     In this case, when a vehicle  420  participating in the vehicle management environment  400  potentially moves to the road section, the computer system/server  12  can transmit an alert  425  about the road section to the vehicle  420 . Alternatively, the computer system/server  12  can first determine that the vehicle  420  potentially moves to a road section, and then request the monitoring records from the vehicle  410  moving on the road section to determine a road condition of the road section. 
     To determine the potential road section of the vehicle  420 , the vehicle  420  can for example collect a plurality of positions of the vehicle  420  during moving, and provide them to the computer system/server  12 . The computer system/server  12  can determine, based on the plurality of positions and a map comprising at least the plurality of positions, a current road section on which the vehicle  420  is moving. 
     Then, the computer system/server  12  can determine a potential road section associated with the current road section. The potential road section is a road section to which the vehicle  420  potentially moves from the current road section. The computer system/server  12  can obtain the condition of the potential road section that has been already determined based on monitoring records of a vehicle previously moving on the potential road section. For example, assume that the vehicle  410  previously moves on the potential road section, the computer system/server  12  can obtain the road condition of the potential road section determined based on the monitoring records of the vehicle  420 . 
     If the obtained road condition indicates that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving on, the computer system/server  12  can transmit an alert  425  about the road section to the vehicle  420 . For example, if the road condition indicates that severe congestion and/or an accident occurred on the road section, the computer system/server  12  can transmit an alert  425  including the video  415  captured by the vehicle  410  regarding the congestion and/or the accident to the vehicle  420 . Additionally or alternatively, the alert  425  can also include the identification of the road section, the direction of the road section, the congestion level of the road section, the offset of the accident, and the like. 
     In another example, computer system/server  12  can analyze monitoring records from vehicle  410  and/or other vehicles (not shown) associated with the potential road section to predict a future level of congestion at an estimated time at which vehicle  420  and/or other vehicles will arrive at the potential road section. Computer system/server  12  can generate an alert for vehicle  420  and/or other vehicles if the predicted future level of congestion exceeds a threshold level of congestion. 
     In another example, computer system/server  12  can command another vehicle that is on the potential road section at a time after a previous vehicle  410  was on the potential road section at an earlier time to obtain current monitoring records on the potential road section to determine if there has been a change in the road condition from when the previous vehicle  410  was on the potential road section. 
     In a further example, vehicle  420  can present an interface (e.g. a user interface or application programming interface (API)) in conjunction with alert to a driver of vehicle  420  that enables the driver to request computer system/server  12  to locate another vehicle that is currently on the potential road section associated with the alert to obtain current monitoring records on the potential road section to determine if there has been a change in the road condition from when the previous vehicle  410  was on the potential road section. It is to be appreciated that a driver can be a human driver, a robotic driver, or self-driving computer. 
     In the above text, the vehicle  410  is described as collecting the monitoring records and the vehicle  420  is described as receiving the alert. However, it should be understood that, the solution is not limited thereto. For example, the vehicle  410  can receive the alert and the vehicle  420  can collect the monitoring records. In addition, although just one vehicle  410  collecting the monitoring records and one vehicle  420  receiving the alert are described, the number of vehicles are not limited thereto, and thus can form a crowd-sourced solution. 
     As such, the computer system/server  12  can alert the driver of the vehicle  420  the actual condition of the potential road section, and facilitate the driver to make a better decision on which route to drive, thus saving the time of the driver and improving the user experience of the web map service. 
       FIG. 5  depicts a flow chart of an example computer-implemented method  500  of managing a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. The computer-implemented method  500  can be at least in part implemented by the computer system/server  12 , or other suitable systems. 
     At  510 , the computer system/server  12  can determine a potential road section associated with a current road section on which a first vehicle (for example, the vehicle  420 ) is moving. The potential road section is a road section to which the first vehicle potentially moves from the current road section. 
     In some embodiments, the computer system/server  12  can first determine the current road section. For example, the first vehicle can send a plurality of positions of the first vehicle during moving. Specifically, the position can be latitude and longitude of the first vehicle in the Global Position System (GPS). As shown in the schematic diagram  600  of  FIG. 6 , the first vehicle can send the positions  610 - 640 . 
     Then, the computer system/server  12  can determine the current road section based on the plurality of positions and a map comprising at least the plurality of positions. For example, the computer system/server  12  can determine the current road section by map mapping. As a specific example, the computer system/server  12  can map the plurality of positions into one or more road sections, and select a road section to be the current road section according to the shortest path algorithm. As shown in the schematic diagram  700  of  FIG. 7 , the computer system/server  12  can determine the current road section  710  based on the received positions  610 - 640  by map mapping. In this case, the road section on which the vehicle is currently moving can be determined accurately. 
     It should be understood that, in the above text, determination of the current road section of the first vehicle (for example, the vehicle  420 ) which is to be notified of the road condition of the potential road section is described. However, the road section of the second vehicle (for example, the vehicle  410 ) which has collected the monitoring records of the road section can also be determined in the same approach. 
     Then, the computer system/server  12  can determine the potential road section associated with the current road section. In some embodiments, the computer system/server  12  can determine a moving direction of the first vehicle on the current road section. For example, the first vehicle can send a series of position information to the computer system/server  12 . The position information can include latitude and longitude of the first vehicle in the Global Position System (GPS). Optionally, the position information can include the time when the first vehicle is at a respective GPS position. Then, the computer system/server  12  can determine the moving direction of the first vehicle based on the received position information. For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the moving direction of the first vehicle determined by the computer system/server  12  can be indicated by an arrow. 
     Additionally, the computer system/server  12  can determine a set of candidate road sections connected to the current road section. For example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the set of candidate road sections are the road sections  720 - 750 . The computer system/server  12  can select a candidate road section in the set of candidate road sections to be the potential road section. A direction of the selected candidate road section matches the moving direction. In some embodiments, the difference between the direction of selected candidate road section and the moving direction can be below a predetermined threshold. For example, as shown in  FIG. 6 , since the direction of the road section  720  matches the moving direction, the road section  720  can be selected to be the potential road section. 
     Alternatively, to determine to the potential road section, the computer system/server  12  can obtain a set of historical movement patterns of the first vehicle. The set of historical movement patterns is generated based on historical movement behaviors of the first vehicle. For example, the driver of the first vehicle can previously travel from his or her home to office, from home to a hospital, from office to school and the like along certain routes. Such historical movement behaviors can thus form a set of historical movement patterns. 
     The computer system/server  12  can select, from the set of historical movement patterns, a historical movement pattern matching the current road section. For example, the current road section can be a part of the route from the home to the office. In this case, the computer system/server  12  can select the historical movement pattern regarding the route from the home to the office. Then, the computer system/server  12  can determine the potential road section based on the selected historical movement pattern and the current road section. For example, the potential road section can be the road section that is to travel from the current road section along the selected route. 
     Yet another way to determine to the potential road section is obtaining, by the computer system/server  12 , navigation information of the first vehicle. The navigation information indicates a destination of the first vehicle. The computer system/server  12  can determine the potential road section based on the navigation information and the current road section. For example, the computer system/server  12  can obtain the navigation information indicating that the first vehicle is to travel to the office, and determine that the potential road section is the road section that is to travel from the current road section along the route to the office. 
     Through the above example approaches for determining the potential road section, the potential road section can be properly predicted based on the current road section and the behavior of the driver. 
     After determining the potential road section, the computer system/server  12  can obtain a road condition of the potential road section, at  520 . The road condition is generated at least based on monitoring records of a second vehicle (for example, the vehicle  410 ) moving on the potential road section. For example, the monitoring records can include a plurality of positions of the second vehicle during moving, a video captured associated with movement of the second vehicle on the potential road section, a position of the second vehicle on the potential road section when capturing the video, time information of the second vehicle on the potential road section when capturing the monitoring records and the like. The generation of the road condition will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 8-10 . 
     In some embodiments, the computer system/server  12  can determine whether the potential road section is a closed road section with a single exit, such as the highway with only one exit. When it is determined that the potential road section is a closed road section, the computer system/server  12  can obtain the road condition of the potential road section. This is because when a vehicle moves onto a closed road section with severe congestion, the vehicle can not be able to leave this road section via another exit, and must wait to pass this road section, which usually wastes a large amount time. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the road section  710  only has a single exit  715 . 
     In obtaining the road condition, the computer system/server  12  can transmit an alert about the potential road section to the first vehicle, at  530 . In some embodiments, when the road condition indicates that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving on, the computer system/server  12  can transmit an alert about the potential road section to the first vehicle. As described above, the alert can include, for example, the video captured by the second vehicle regarding the congestion and the accident, the identification of the road section, the direction of the road section, the congestion level of the road section, the offset of the accident, and the like. 
     As such, the driver of the first vehicle can be notified of the actual condition of the potential road section in an accurate and instinctive manner In this case, the driver can easily avoid being caught in a traffic jam and effectively plan his or her route to the destination. Thus, the time waste can be reduced and the user experience can be enhanced. 
     Then, the generation of the road condition will be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 8-10 .  FIG. 8  depicts a flow chart of an example computer-implemented method  800  of determining a road condition according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     At  810 , the computer system/server  12  can obtain the monitoring records. As described above, the monitoring records can include a plurality of positions of the second vehicle (for example, the vehicle  410 ) during moving, a video captured associated with movement of the second vehicle on the potential road section, a position of the second vehicle on the potential road section when capturing the video, time information of the second vehicle on the potential road section when capturing the monitoring records and the like. The monitoring records can be provided by the second vehicle. In some embodiments, the monitoring records can be stored locally in the computer system/server  12 , or remotely in a remote storage which can be, for example, a cloud storage, a distributed storage or the like. 
     In order to determine the road condition, the computer system/server  12  can first determine the monitored road section (which is determined to be the potential road section of the first vehicle in a later time) on which the second vehicle is moving when collecting the monitoring records. For example, when the monitoring records include a plurality of positions of the second vehicle during moving, the computer system/server  12  can determine the monitored road section of the second vehicle based on the plurality of positions. 
     For example, the second vehicle can send a plurality of positions of the second vehicle during moving. Specifically, the position can be latitude and longitude of the first vehicle in the Global Position System (GPS). As shown in the schematic diagram  900  of  FIG. 9 , the second vehicle can send the positions  910 - 950 . 
     Then, the computer system/server  12  can determine the monitored road section based on the plurality of positions and a map comprising at least the plurality of positions. For example, the computer system/server  12  can determine the monitored road section by map mapping. As a specific example, the computer system/server  12  can map the plurality of positions into one or more candidate road sections, and select a candidate road section to be the monitored road section according to the shortest path algorithm. As shown in the schematic diagram  1000  of  FIG. 10 , the computer system/server  12  can determine the monitored road section  1010  based on the received positions  910 - 950  by map mapping. In this case, the road section on which the vehicle is currently moving can be determined accurately. 
     At  820 , the computer system/server  12  can determine, based on the monitoring records, at least one of an occurrence of an accident and a congestion level of the monitored road section  1010 . In determining the occurrence of the accident, when the monitoring records includes a video captured associated with movement of the second vehicle on the potential road section, the computer system/server  12  can determine the occurrence of the accident based on the video. For example, the computer system/server  12  can identify the accident by analyzing an image of a video frame, so as to determine whether an accident has occurred on the potential road section, what type of accident has occurred, the severity of the accident, or the like, and thus determining the occurrence of the accident. 
     Additionally, in some embodiments, the monitoring record can include a position of the second vehicle on the monitored road section  1010  when capturing the video. In this case, when the occurrence of the accident indicates that the accident has occurred, the computer system/server  12  can determine an offset of a position of the accident from a reference position of the potential road section. For example, the occurrence of the accident can indicate that an accident  1020  occurs on the monitored road section  1010 . The computer system/server  12  can determine the offset of the accident position from the entrance  1030  of the monitored road section  1010 . For example, it can be determined that the offset is 50 meters from the entrance  1030  of the monitored road section  1010 . As such, the position of the accident can be accurately determined, so as to provide more reliable and thorough information to the first vehicle. 
     Alternatively or in addition, in determining the congestion level, when the monitoring records include position information and time information of the second vehicle on the monitored road section  1010  when capturing the monitoring records, the computer system/server  12  can determine, based on the position information and the time information, a speed of the second vehicle when capturing the monitoring records. For example, the computer system/server  12  can obtain a series of GPS positions and the corresponding time when the second vehicle is at a respective GPS position. In this case, the speed between two GPS positions can be calculated based on the distance and time difference of the two GPS positions. 
     Then, the computer system/server  12  can compare the determined speed to a predetermined threshold, so as to determine a congestion level of the potential road section based on the comparison result. For example, a speed lower than 10 kilometers per hour can be specified as indicating a high level of congestion, a speed lower than 30 kilometers and higher than 10 kilometers per hour can be specified as indicating a moderate level of congestion, and a speed higher than 30 kilometers per hour can be specified as indicating a low level of congestion. As such, the congestion level of the potential road section can be accurately determined, which also helps the driver of the first vehicle to know the actual traffic condition he or she might encounter. 
     At  830 , the computer system/server  12  can determine the road condition of the monitored road section based on at least one of the occurrence of the accident and the congestion level. For example, the computer system/server  12  can determine that the road condition indicates that the potential road section is unsuitable for moving, when an accident has occurred on the potential road section and/or a congestion level of the potential road section exceeds a predetermined threshold (such as a high congestion level). 
     It should be understood that, the determined road condition can be stored locally in the computer system/server  12 , or remotely in a remote storage which can be, for example, a cloud storage, a distributed storage or the like. Alternatively or in addition, the information determined from the monitoring records collected by the second vehicle or the monitoring records per se can also be stored locally in the computer system/server  12 , or remotely in a remote storage. The determined information can include at least one of the video captured by the second vehicle regarding the congestion and the accident, the identification of the road section, the direction of the road section, the congestion level of the road section, the offset of the accident, and the like. By this way, the stored information from the second vehicle can be used by the first vehicle in a later time. 
     The present invention may be a system, a computer-implemented method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. 
     The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire. 
     Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device. 
     Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention. 
     Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of computer-implemented methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions. 
     These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. 
     The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, computer-implemented methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions. 
     The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.