The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute’s Smart Work Zone system capabilities have expanded to meet the safety needs of an Albemarle County, Virginia, work zone deployed at the roundabout intersection of Route 151 and Route 250.
“This is a great collaboration opportunity between the institute and the Virginia Department of Transportation,” said Jean Paul Talledo Vilela, senior research associate at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). “We added a new sensor fusion technology based on radar and cameras to detect speeding vehicles and provide enough warning time for workers to move to a safe location. The goal of using this enhanced technology is to save more lives by making work zones safer.”
Previously deployed in Wise County and in the Northern Virginia area, reports The Roanoke Star, the Smart Work Zone system includes wearable smart vests for construction workers that accurately transmits their GPS position and predicts potential hazards from passing motorists. A mobile base station then broadcasts work zone information to connected vehicles and uses smart cone devices to automatically define work zone boundaries. This extends the wireless communications link between workers and the base station when they are not in its line of sight.
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Source: The Roanoke Star
