Clearing roads during whiteout conditions creates hazardous conditions beyond the risk of impassable pavements. Snow plow operators cannot see what’s ahead of them, and it is not easy stopping a Class 8 truck with a massive plow affixed to its front.
Researchers at Iowa State University have been given $500,000 toward developing a navigation system that will increase the safety of snow plows during whiteout conditions. The money comes in the form of a grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The team of researchers want to work on how sensors, radar, LiDAR 3D scanning, GPS navigation, thermal imaging, cameras, artificial intelligence systems, algorithms, human-computer interfaces, and other technology can handle the conditions snowplows face during Iowa winters.
“That person operating the snowplow in the snow is facing so much workload and stress,” said Anuj Sharma, the Pitt-Des Moines, Inc., Professor in Civil Engineering at Iowa State University and a research scientist at Iowa State’s Institute for Transportation. “We want to at least give them a helping hand and some tools to help.”
Source: Iowa State University
