This sensor warns of slippery roads – NRK Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio

– We have to get it out before it gets slippery.

This is what Ron Garry, Smart City Councilor, Stavanger Municipality, said.

The purpose is to make the task of salting and spreading more predictable. The sensor notifies you of driving conditions. This is, if when The municipality should spray or salt the road.

– Instead of municipal employees having to drive at night and check if the roads are smooth, they can now check conditions from home on their cell phones, Gary says.

There are now approximately 150 sensors in the asphalt along several roads in five municipalities in Nordgaeren.

Measures average speed

Sensors measure the humidity of the air, whether the road is wet or dry, and the amount of salt on the asphalt.

In addition, the number of passing cars and the average speed of the vehicles are calculated.

Smartbyen’s plan is to share data with both schools and businesses. Then you can see how many cars are going in and out of cities to view shopping patterns and the like.

In addition, you can get reliable figures about the volume of traffic, for example, primary schools.

– We can get quite a bit of good information from these metrics, says Ruth B Brand, a traffic safety consultant for the municipality of Stavanger.

Brand says they are very concerned about making school roads in the municipality safer, and that they will use statistics on the amount of traffic around primary schools in particular.

The information provided by sensors is useful for knowing which methods are used most often and at what time. and whether drivers actually comply with the specified speed limit.

At the same time, the municipality of Stavanger believes that those who have the sensors can save money and the environment.

The goal is that The tool should help access Stavanger Climate Goals 2030 (External link).

If we can use less salt, it’s good for the environment. Brand says it will save budgets to use less salt.

More tasks, but not more employees

The purpose of technology is efficiency.

We reduce manual effort. He says the task that employees once performed is now being performed by a sensor 24/7, in real time Årstein Skjæveland, municipal manager in Gjesdal Municipality.

In Gjesdal municipality, they are reporting on more and more tasks, without hiring more people to do the work.

This means that they now have to think differently.

We need rest, we need to think again, says Skjæveland.

The sensors now placed in different avenues in Rogaland are inspired by a similar sensor project located slightly south of Europe.

– These are used a lot in big cities like Rotterdam and Amsterdam, says Gary.

Road sensors now being placed in Stavanger, Sandnes, Sola, Tesfer and Gisdahl can measure several things at the same time.

With constant updates, information from Round Tech Aid can contribute to less driving and no unnecessary salting out.

The Mjøs region of Norway also has similar road sensors.

The project is funded with Ibtikar funds from the Director of State. Digi Rogaland, the digitization body for all municipalities in the county, received a total of NOK 1.5 million for work.

The sensors do not record the car number nor who is sitting in the car, only that the car passes.