The Feasibility of Using Vehicles as Probes

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The Feasibility of Using Vehicles as Probes
Kevin R. Petty and William P. Mahoney
National Center for Atmospheric Research Boulder,
Colorado
Clarus ICC 9/21/07
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Mitigating the Impact of Weather
National Research Council (NRC) Recommendations

• A vigorous road weather research program aimed at
  understanding road weather phenomena and the
  effect of weather on safety, capacity and
  efficiency
• Improved modeling capabilities and forecast
  systems
• An integrated observation network and data
  management system
• Enhanced delivery and communication of road
  weather information
• New technologies to improve weather and road
  condition analyses and forecasts.

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) has the
potential to facilitate advancements in each of
these areas
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What is VII
DEFINITION Vehicle to Infrastructure (V-I) and
Vehicle to Vehicle (V-V) communication through
Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC-
wireless radio comm. 5.9 GHz)
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NCAR, with support from the Federal Highway
Administration, conducted an investigation
regarding the potential of deriving weather and
road condition information from vehicle data
elements.
OBJECTIVE Produce a Feasibility and Concept
Development Report for VII

• Relevant data elements
• Technical issues (challenges, barriers, etc.)
• Contribution to weather and road conditions
• Data load and processing requirements
• Research topics focused on data utilization
• Feasibility of using VII data to improve safety,
  mobility and efficiency

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Weather-related Vehicle Data Elements

• Hours of operation
• Elevation
• Accelerometer data
• Vehicle speed
• Heading
• Rate of change of steering wheel
• Exterior temperature
• Windshield wiper setting
• Rain sensor
• Sun sensor
• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) radar

• Atmospheric Pressure
• Ambient noise level
• Headlights
• Relative humidity
• ABS
• Traction control
• Stability control
• Pavement temperature
• Brake

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Technical Issues and Challenges

• Adoption Rates
• Data Volume
• Probe Message Proc.
• Quality and Accuracy
• Data Fusion

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Potential Weather and Road Condition Improvements

• Improved identification of slippery pavement-
  Improved knowledge of pavement temperatures-
  Improved knowledge of pavement condition (dry,
  wet, snow covered, etc.)- Reducing radar
  anomalous propagation (AP)- Improved
  identification of virga (precipitation not
  reaching the ground)- Improved identification
  of precipitation and precipitation type-
  Improved identification of foggy regions-
  Improved characterization of surface conditions
  for weather models- Improved weather analysis
  and prediction in complex terrain- Improved air
  quality monitoring and prediction- Improved
  diagnosis of boundary layer water vapor

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Diagnosing Boundary Conditions and Precipitation
DaimlerChrysler Vehicle Data Elements andDetroit
(DTX) WSR-88D Data
2006-05-25 221213Z
2006-05-25 225743Z
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Diagnosing Boundary Conditions and Precipitation
Temp
Press
Wiper State
DaimlerChrysler Vehicle Data Elements
Wiper State 0off, 1-5 intermittent, 13 low,
14 high
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VII Feasibility and Concept Development
Report released in Jan. 2007
http//ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publications.
htm
http//ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/viirpt/index.
htm
http//www.ral.ucar.edu/projects/vii/
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Potential Weather and Road Condition Improvements
Improved High-Resolution Modeling
As weather models increase in resolution,
observations will need to increase as well to
better define the regional/local state of the
atmosphere. Vehicle observations can fill-in the
gaps in the fixed observation network.
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Potential Weather and Road Condition Improvements
Improved identification of precipitation and
precipitation type
Currently, precipitation type is determined by
airport observations (METARS) which are few and
far between! Vehicle data (air temperature, and
data from maintenance or patrol vehicles) would
greatly improve product accuracy.
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Potential Weather and Road Condition Improvements
Improved identification of slippery pavement
Anti-lock Braking, Traction Control, and
Stability Control systems are designed to monitor
wheel events linked to the pavement/tire
interface. By making appropriate adjustments to
other onboard systems (e.g. throttle, braking,
etc.) the greatest amount of traction possible is
achieved. Although these systems do not
directly measure friction, it may be possible to
derive information on the state of the roadway
from event data.
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Potential Weather and Road Condition Improvements
Identification of Foggy Regions
The use of vehicle data (relative humidity, fog
and head lamp settings, speed, and brake data)
coupled with other data sets (e.g., satellite,
surface analysis data) could be used to diagnose
areas where fog is likely. This product concept
is challenging!
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Research Needs and Challenges

• Adoption Rates
• Data Volume
• Probe Message Proc.
• Quality and Accuracy
• Data Fusion

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Research Needs and Challenges

• Adoption Rates
• Data Volume
• Probe Message Proc.
• Quality and Accuracy
• Data Fusion

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Research Needs and Challenges

• Adoption Rates
• Data Volume
• Probe Message Proc.
• Quality and Accuracy
• Data Fusion

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Research Needs and Challenges

• Adoption Rates
• Data Volume
• Probe Message Proc.
• Quality and Accuracy
• Data Fusion

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Research Needs and Challenges

• Adoption Rates
• Data Volume
• Probe Message Proc.
• Quality and Accuracy
• Data Fusion

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Road Weather Impact Products

• VII enables tactical and strategic response to
  weather related surface transportation hazards.
• New weather and road condition data (incl. VII
  and Clarus data) should be integrated into a
  seamless information database(s) to support
• 511
• In-vehicle information
• Traveler information
• Highway operations
• Control systems
• Weather Prediction
• Road Condition Prediction
• Etc.

Improving Safety, Mobility and Efficiency