A visibility observation vehicle
Toward the development of effective snowstorm countermeasure facilities, it’s important to assess road weather conditions, which change from moment to moment.
However, the observation of weather conditions along roads requires is equipment- and labor-intensive.
Therefore, visibility observation vehicles that can observe road weather data have been developed. The data are used to assess changes in road weather conditions and the degree of snowstorm danger.
These visibility observation vehicles are equipped with a visibility meter, an anemometer, a thermometer and other devices for road weather observation. They also have devices to measure the angle of the steering wheel and the positions of the accelerator and the brake, allowing us to asses how poor visibility affects drivers.
Contact
http://www2.ceri.go.jp/jpn/pdf2/
panf-201407-vehicle.pdf
A vehicle equipped with a laser scanner for determination of the effective road width
The effective width of a road in winter affects the travel speed. But no method had been developed for continuously measuring the road width.
We developed a system for the continuous observation of the effective road width. Consisting of a 2D radar scanner, a USB camera and a GPS device, the system has been installed on road patrol vehicles for field tests on roads in service. We’ve been working to improve the accuracy of the system toward its commercial application.