Skip to main content

Heavy vehicles to collect slipperiness data for Finland’s road users

EEE Innovations Oy (EEE), the Finnish Transport Agency and Trafi have launched a two-year project in the Northern European state to equip 1000 heavy traffic vehicles including buses and trucks with a data collecting system which will produce real-time road slipperiness data. The trial aims to improve traffic safety for road users, drivers and operators. This application, developed by EEE, can be implemented via a software update which reads the data from the Can-bus of the vehicle’s computer. The driver
January 24, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

8651 EEE Innovations Oy (EEE), the Finnish Transport Agency and Trafi have launched a two-year project in the Northern European state to equip 1000 heavy traffic vehicles including buses and trucks with a data collecting system which will produce real-time road slipperiness data. The trial aims to improve traffic safety for road users, drivers and operators.

This application, developed by EEE, can be implemented via a software update which reads the data from the Can-bus of the vehicle’s computer. The driver guidance system can be installed as part of its current software, or as a separate entity, including both the driver guidance and slipperiness detection systems.

The invention was originally used by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland for heavy traffic research projects and has also piloted in both the country and an EU-level project. It is also intended to be available for private vehicles in the future.

Jarmo Leino of EEE, said: “We offer the slipperiness data collected by the vehicles to be used by all parties in the project. In addition to that, also other information can be derived from the vehicles through the system, such as location and temperature data and information on sudden braking situations. We welcome all interested transport operators to join the project, there is room still.”

Raine Hautala, principal scientist at VTT, said: “The software that is now being implemented can also guide drivers to drive more economically. In addition to the driver of the vehicle, a warning of slipperiness detected can be forwarded in real time to the whole fleet and other operators, for example through map applications. The data can be utilized for other purposes as well, such as targeting road maintenance measures.”

UTC

Related Content

  • November 14, 2017
    America explores road user charging options
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax
  • November 27, 2017
    America explores road user charging options
    Jack Opiola casts an eye over the numerous road user charging pilots underway in the US. In the USA, congestion mitigation and improving mobility have often focused on network improvements, increased road capacity, improved public transport, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes or ‘express lanes’ and ITS measures – all of which require political capital and major funding. Nowadays, political capital is as hard to obtain as funding because more political leaders are recognising the decline of fuel excise tax in
  • June 29, 2018
    Avoiding the call of the wild
    Hitting an animal on a rural road can be fatal for all parties involved – but detecting and avoiding them requires clever technology. Andrew Williams carefully scans the horizon for details. Wildlife-vehicle collisions are an ever-present threat in rural areas around the world, and there is certainly nothing funny about suddenly finding an angry moose in your headlights on a sharp bend. A variety of detection and avoidance systems are currently in use or under development to help prevent your vehicle being
  • March 21, 2014
    Volvo initiates cloud-based road warning system
    Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars), the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) are joining forces in a pilot project in which road friction information from individual cars is shared within a cloud-based system. The pilot uses 50 Volvo cars; when the test car detects an icy or slippery patch of road, the information is transmitted to Volvo Cars’ database via the mobile phone network. An instant warning is transmitted to other vehicles ap