What problem does it solve? 1. Excessive application of salt or brine solution which increases cost as well as impairs the surface and ground waters. What is your solution and who does it apply to? First step is to pilot to develop a framework based on major highways to develop predictive algorithms using real-time data from road-sensors and meteorological data, which will be synced with the Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices on the road-salt trucks and mobile devices of the operators. The data will be stored on cloud-based servers and available to the operators, schedulers and planners. The pilot phase will use machine learning and artificial intelligence predictive algorithms to determine the type of salt application, duration and quantity, and geographical extent of the salt application. The pilot will fine tune the algorithm with the existing process and allow the schedulers to plan application, inform the dispatch and truck operators and the truck operators. The involved personnel will instantly know when and where to apply, how much to apply and for how long. Second step will be to expand the geographical scope. Applies to: Dept. of Transportation, Port Authority, County What is the anticipated impact? 1. Direct cost savings and reduced impact on the environment (both air and water) 2. Make the roads safer, reduce congestion 3. Improve resource management by optimizing human interventions
I like this idea. IoT is interesting technology and expanding very fast. I think estimates are that over 16 trillion zetabytes of data will be on the IoT by 2023. I would be interested to learn about how the IOTA Blockchain (which will be crucial to the health of the IoT in the future) -- or the "IOTA Tangle" -- could be applied to deliver a solution such as this idea proposes.
Environmental impacts associated with road deicing is real and include impacts on aquatic health and drinking water quality. However, public safety is an overriding factor when dealing with a winter storm. Use of technology including predictive algorithms to more efficiently apply deicing materials is an innovative solution which protects the environment and ensures public safety during winter emergencies.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation