The road condition images provide valuable information for transportation operation managers to enhance their snowplow operation practices and improve roadway safety during winter storms. In recent years, various state Departments of Transportation (state DOTs) in the US have employed GPS-based automatic vehicle location (AVL) systems, consisting of several detached equipment pieces (e.g., communication modem, mobile data computer, and GPS device), along with mounted cameras in snowplow fleet to communicate real-time snowplow locations as well as road condition images. However, using such a multi-part system in states with less frequent winter storms, such as Texas, where the trucks may be used for other purposes than plowing, is undesirably restrictive and costly. The objective of this research is to develop a multi-purpose all-in-one mobile data collection system for snowplow fleet to communicate road condition images along with snowplow locations during winter operation. In this research, a cellular Android tablet with an embedded camera and GPS device is programmed and installed in snowplows to automatically collect and transfer geotagged road condition images at predetermined time intervals (e.g., 10 min) when the snowplow is moving at the speed of 5 mph or more. Moreover, a web-map ArcGIS interface is developed to visualize the collected road condition images and snowplow locations along with weather-related information provided by national weather services (e.g., current ambient temperatures, snowfall forecast, and issued watches, warnings, and advisories). The developed system was implemented in the TxDOT Wichita Falls District on five (5) snowplows for the 2020–21 winter season. The system captured the historic winter storm in Texas in February 2021. The results, including more than 120 geotagged road condition images visualized on the web-map interface, provided helpful information for transportation operation managers to better oversee the real-time road condition and make well-informed decisions during snowplow operation. The developed system is expected to facilitate equipping the snowplow fleet with a mobile data collection system to communicate adverse road conditions, improve snowplow operational decisions, and consequently decrease weather-related crashes on roadways.
A Multi-Purpose All-in-One Mobile Data Collection System for Snowplow Operation Management
International Conference on Transportation and Development 2022 ; 2022 ; Seattle, Washington
2022-08-31
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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