NIRA Dynamics and Klimator intensify co-operation – Friction data from cars improves road weather models

NIRA Dynamics and Klimator intensify their co-operation and offer Swedish road services detailed road condition forecasts. This enables optimized winter service reducing environmental impact and accidents due to slippery roads. The heart of the new road weather technology called Road Status Information (RSI) is a software which combines road weather station information with friction data from connected vehicles and common weather forecasts.

In the past winter 2016/2017, NIRA has collected friction data from a taxi fleet in Sweden and the results have been shared with Klimator and the Swedish road authority Trafikverket. The data was continously sent to a NIRA-server where it hase been processed to enable road condition monitoring in real time.

NIRA and Klimator are now making the next step combining real-time vehicle data with Klimator’s local road weather models transforming these into high resolution road condition forecasts.

„We integrate both approaches to exchange data quickly and smoothly. Road services shall always have up-to-date and reliable information with unprecedented resolution, that means in real time and down to individual road segments“, as David Askenteg, Project Manager RSI at NIRA explains.

Through RSI, road services will be fighting ice and snow much more efficiently. “If you know exactly where and when it gets slippery, then you also know where and when to spread salt proactively – and where not. That gives a huge benefit for road safety and for the environment. You save cost for salt and can plan and use the resources more efficiently. But the key advantage remains safety, this is about saving lives on our roads”, adds Torbjörn Gustavsson, CEO at Klimator.

NIRA and Klimator are trying to spread RSI to more and more vehicles. Taxi and rental car companies as well as car fleet operators are of special interest to increase coverage of the road network.

Contact:

Johan Hägg, Head of Marketing & Sales

Phone: +46 (0) 700 454056

Email: johan.hagg@niradynamics.se

About NIRA: NIRA Dynamics, established 2001 with main office in Linköping/Schweden, is specialized in sensor fusion and develops cost efficient safety and navigation solutions for the global vehicle industry. Among the customers are leading vehicle manufacturers as Audi, Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Volvo, Fiat and Renault.

About Klimator: Klimator, established 1999, is a research and development company at the university of Gothenburg/Sweden which focuses on local road weather models.