Highway weather monitoring

• Hazardous road weather conditions
  • Notification of relevant authorities
  • Live Updates – Citizen Safety (Smart Cities)
  • Immediate intervention by authorities at critical and hazardous points
  • Enhanced road network safety
• Environmental Impact
  • Use of fewer chemicals for snow removal
  • Environmental Protection
• Delays
  • Better travel planning for visitors
  • Better route planning for public transportation
• Resources
  • Savings on snow removal materials & vehicle routes.
  • Impact reduction through prevention
  • Evidence in case of weather-related accidents

• • Type & intensity of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, etc.)

  • Air temperature / humidity – dew point

  • Road surface and subsurface temperature (-5cm & -30cm)

  • Water / snow / ice on the road surface

  • Water freezing point temperature

  • Presence of chemical residues (e.g. salt)

  • Tire friction or grip

  • Wind speed and direction

  • Visibility

Invasive sensors are sensors that are integrated into the road surface. To measure a wide range of parameters, a combination of passive and active sensors is required. Passive sensors detect the temperature of the road surface, water height up to 4 mm, ice percentage, and the freezing point of water, as well as friction (grip) and road surface condition (dry/wet/wet with ice or snow/wet with salt/wet with salt).

The design of the sensor enclosure allows for easy maintenance/recalibration and low energy consumption (solar energy usage).

The combination of a passive and active sensor is used to calculate the freezing point of water for various anti-freezing materials other than NaCl (MgCl, CaCl).

A single measurement point often does not reflect the true road conditions. The use of optical sensors provides data for a larger area rather than a point measurement.

Sensors can be placed anywhere, several meters above the ground, and are widely used in bridge monitoring where the use of invasive sensors is often prohibitive. They measure the conditions on the road surface, such as moisture, ice, snow, or frost, as well as water coverage levels, the ice percentage in the water, and the freezing point of water. These measurements determine the friction coefficient on the road.

The major advantages of optical monitoring sensors are their easy installation and integration into existing networks, as well as the accuracy of their measurements.

Note: The water film height is measured in micrometers. From just 10 micrometers, a road is no longer dry. With more than 700 micrometers (0.7 mm), there is a risk of hydroplaning.

A dense network of fixed sensors is essential for reliable road monitoring in a specific area.

However, there will always be areas that are not covered by either invasive or optical sensors.

For the coverage of these areas or to identify critical points, the Lufft MARWIS is a perfect addition to any monitoring network. This award-winning sensor can be mounted on nearly any vehicle or larger transportation unit. It measures up to 100 times per second while in motion and reports real-time data.

With mobile sensors, you get a complete picture of the road conditions in real time, completing the data from your network and leading to better decision-making (salt application, warnings, etc.).