Road Sign Visibility Control Using Forecast-Driven Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Adverse weather conditions often obscure road signs, leading to inefficiencies in manpower deployment for visibility improvement, as not all signs are guaranteed to be affected and the process is not always necessary.
Innovation Solution
A system that predicts the state of visibility for road signs using attribute data and weather forecasts, generating control signals to adjust machinery on the signs, such as rotation, shielding, or heating, to maintain visibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If field personnel are deployed to improve sign visibility during adverse weather, then sign visibility is improved, but manpower resources are wasted when signs are not actually obscured
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary assessment of sign visibility conditions using weather data, sign attributes, and visibility models before deploying field personnel. This allows prediction of which signs will actually be obscured, enabling proactive scheduling of maintenance activities only when and where needed, thus avoiding unnecessary manpower deployment while ensuring visibility when required
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables signs to effectively 'self-report' their visibility status through automated monitoring using weather stations, sign attribute databases, and visibility prediction algorithms. This self-service capability eliminates the need for continuous manual inspection and allows dynamic, data-driven deployment decisions for field personnel
2Reliability
If manual inspection and maintenance of road signs is performed, then sign visibility is maintained, but the process is inefficient and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual mechanical inspection processes with automated computational methods including weather data analysis, sign attribute modeling, and visibility prediction algorithms. This substitution of mechanical field inspection with information-based prediction systems dramatically reduces the time required to assess and maintain sign visibility across large regions
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary identification of signs that will experience visibility issues before adverse weather fully impacts them. By predicting obscured signs in advance using weather forecasts and visibility models, the system enables proactive maintenance scheduling, reducing the need for reactive emergency inspections and maintenance activities
3Reliability
If all road signs are treated uniformly for visibility protection, then visibility is ensured, but resources are allocated inefficiently to signs not affected by weather conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different visibility protection strategies to different signs based on their specific attributes (location, orientation, type, environmental exposure) and local weather conditions. This localized approach allows optimization of resource allocation by tailoring maintenance activities to the actual needs of each sign rather than applying uniform treatment across all signs, thereby improving both visibility reliability and resource efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary risk assessment for each individual sign using its specific attributes and location-based weather data. This allows differentiation of signs by their vulnerability to weather-induced obscuration, enabling prioritized resource allocation to high-risk signs while minimizing unnecessary activities on low-risk signs, thus improving overall resource allocation efficiency
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach improves road safety by ensuring signs remain visible under adverse conditions without unnecessary resource allocation, enhancing navigation systems and reducing the need for manual inspections.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element, and a controller. The sign face may include a transparent or translucent portion through which sign information is visible
Implementation Method 2
a wiper blade, and a controller
Data Source
AI summary
A method, apparatus and computer program product are provided for controlling a functional road object. For example, at least one processor receives road sign attribute data indicating at least one attribute of a road sign and receives weather forecast data indicating a weather forecast of a location in which the road sign is disposed. The road sign includes at least one machinery for mitigating exposure to one or more weather conditions. The at least one processor identifies a state of visibility for the road sign using the road sign attribute data and the weather forecast data and generates a control signal for controlling the at least one machinery using the state of visibility.