Advanced Snowplow Project (ASP)

The ASP system functions include lane position indication, lane departure warning, and forward collision warning. Lane position indication and lane departure warning were developed by PATH using their embedded magnetic reference marker system for lateral position indication within the lane. Feasibility of this technology was shown at the National Automated Highway Systems Consortium (NAHSC) 1997 Demonstration; the technology is considered robust and well-suited for the current application. The Collision Warning System (CWS) was developed by AHMCT, using a millimeter wave radar system, which performs well in the snow environment; this system is intended to detect vehicles and other inorganic objects buried or obscured by snow. AHMCT and PATH jointly developed the Human-Machine Interface (HMI). AHMCT integrated all subsystems on the snowplow. The overall system architecture used on the ASP is based on an open architecture, so that other sensors and subsystems can be incorporated in the future. Caltrans provided the snowplow. The vehicle deployed into operation in December 1998 (shown in video).

Based on the accomplishments of the ASP-I program, the US Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) Specialty Vehicle Partnership (now known as the IVI Infrastructure Consortium) funded continued development of the Advanced Snowplow Driver Assistance system with this Phase Two Program (ASP-II). The objectives of the ASP-II project were to further develop functions for the snowplow guidance system in order to provide a more rugged and functional system for deployment testing, to develop an enhanced Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for snowplow guidance, and to develop quantitative Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) to allow comparison of results for Winter Maintenance research. The purpose of these MOEs is to ensure that individual Winter Maintenance research projects are responsive to the broader goals of the IVI Specialty Vehicle Partnership and the IVI Specialty Vehicle Platform with the U.S. DOT IVI program.  Final reports for Phase I and Phase II.