ForeC

Slippery road conditions are detected rapidly, accurately and with low costs by using vehicles moving on the road network as sensors. The method is based on constant measuring and analyzing of data derived from the CAN-bus of the vehicle. The solution being software-based, no sensor equipment need to be installed in the vehicle, nor does it require any additional maintenance actions from the driver. This allows for the method to be employed in a large number of vehicles with moderate costs. The slipperinesss data produced by the vehicles can be gathered and used for winter maintenance purposes and presented for road users in a desired format, for instance as direct slipperiness alerts to vehicles or visualisations in a map interface. Extensive slipperiness data can also be used for the benefit of information providing and commercial added value services.

The market for slipperiness detection, in addition to the heavy vehicles acting as sensors themselves and the fleet managers, also include other parties, who benefit from slipperiness information, such as authorities, road maintenance operators, providers of road weather and navigator services, vehicle and vehicle system manufactureres and insurance companies.

Geographically slipperiness information is relevant not only in the cold but also in temperate climate zones such as in central Europe, where slipperiness occurs less frequently but due to that, more surprisingly and with serious consequences. A significant part of the world’s population, also road users, lives in these zones.