VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed an automatic slipperiness detection system for cars. The system helps drivers to avoid damage to vehicles and personal injury in slippery road conditions. Thanks to the system, vehicles are warned in advance of a road’s actual slipperiness. If the road becomes more dangerous, other vehicles arriving in the area will also be warned immediately.
Slipperiness detection is based on a method developed by VTT, whereby changes in road conditions are detected in real time, based on data collected by the car’s own sensors. The method entails estimating the difference in the speeds of the drive shaft and freely rotating axles in various driving situations, which enables deduction of the level of friction.
The system is capable of determining the slipperiness of a road on the basis of a drive of a few kilometers. The information is then passed on to the driver, before he or she has even noticed the change in road conditions. After this, observations collected from all cars and the related coordinates are transmitted wirelessly to a background system, which maintains a real-time slipperiness map and generates a log of the road conditions. For each car that joins the system, the background system produces and transmits an individual data package on road conditions. This allows drivers to prepare for adverse conditions.
Various vehicle terminal devices can be used to join the system. Information on the level of slipperiness may be transmitted to drivers by means of warning lights, voice signals, text or symbols, depending on possibilities offered by the terminal device. As well as through vehicle terminal devices, this information can be utilized via other communication channels, such as smart phones, national media, weather forecasts or roadside signs.
This system fits all cars, irrespective of their make. Widespread implementation of the system would create significant savings for transport operators, other road users and society at large. It is ready for commercial production.
