Wireless Road Treatment Data Communication for Fleet Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
The process of updating route information and treatment levels for a fleet of road treatment vehicles is time-consuming, and existing systems lack efficient methods for communicating road treatment data to multiple vehicles in real-time.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a first computer that determines road treatment data, including route information and treatment levels, which is wirelessly communicated to a plurality of control devices associated with road treatment vehicles, allowing automatic selection and configuration of treatment data based on topographic identifiers and user inputs, enabling efficient deployment of treatment materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If route information is manually updated for each vehicle in the fleet, then data accuracy is maintained, but time consumption increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates copies of route information and treatment data from a central server to multiple control devices in the fleet. Each control device receives and stores local copies of the data, allowing simultaneous updates across all vehicles without manual intervention for each individual device, thus maintaining data accuracy while dramatically reducing time consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-loading route information and treatment data onto control devices before the vehicles need to use them. Updates are pushed in advance to all control devices, so when vehicles operate, they already have current data, eliminating the need for real-time manual updates during operations.
2Reliability
If route data is manually configured for each control device, then data reliability is ensured, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device is designed with universal functionality to automatically receive, store, and process route information from a central server. The device can serve multiple purposes: storing route data, receiving treatment level information, providing navigation guidance, and enabling automatic selection of routes based on vehicle location, thereby improving productivity while maintaining reliability through standardized data handling across the fleet.
Solution Approach 2:
The control device performs self-service by automatically selecting routes based on its current location and the stored route information. The device autonomously compares its GPS coordinates with the route data, identifies matching topographic identifiers, and selects appropriate routes without requiring manual intervention from operators, thus enhancing productivity while ensuring reliable data usage.
3Ease of operation
If automatic route selection is implemented using topographic identifiers, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Topographic identifiers serve as intermediaries between the vehicle's location data and the route selection process. The control device compares GPS coordinates with stored topographic identifiers (such as landmark coordinates or geographic features) to automatically identify and select appropriate routes. This intermediary mechanism simplifies operation by eliminating manual route planning while managing device complexity through standardized comparison algorithms.
Data Source
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Figure 3~5
Figure 6a~6b
AI summary
Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of communicating road treatment data (600) to a plurality of control devices (200-1...200-n), each associated with a road treatment vehicle (300), comprising: determining (502), at a first computer, road treatment data (600) comprising route information (602) indicative of a route around a road network (606) to be followed by one of the road treatment vehicles, and treatment level data (608a, 608b) indicative of an amount of treatment material to be applied to one or more portions of the route by the road treatment vehicle (300); communicating (504) wirelessly the road treatment data (600) to each of the plurality of control devices (200-1...200-n); configuring (506) the received road treatment data (600) at each of the plurality of control devices (200-1...200-n) for selection by a user; and receiving, at a control device amongst the plurality of control devices, a user input indicative of selected road treatment data (600), and outputting an indication of the route around the road network (606) comprised within the selected road treatment data (600), through an interface unit of the control device (200).