Development of the next generation of smart salt trucks for sustainable winter road maintenance

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More than 5-million tonnes of road salt is used for de-icing roadways and parking lots in Canada each year. These salts can have a significant impact on water quality. Both environmental and health & safety concerns are becoming progressively important in the provision of road salt application plans. This research project will develop novel models for prescribing the right amount(s) of road salt and at the right time(s) to be applied judiciously on roadways and parking lots for a given storm event. This model will be using both remotely-sensed and ground-based, real-time weather forecast data to prescribe the optimum road salt application rates and timing of the applications within the storm event to achieve road safety while minimizing the harm to the salt-vulnerable areas. We will use the Road Weather Information System (RWIS) to more accurately forecast the severity and type of the winter storm events. We will then use advanced Artificial Intelligence modeling techniques, including extreme learning machine (ELM), gene expression programming (GEP), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS), and the Generalized Method of Data Handling (GMDH) to train highly accurate machine learning models, using the detailed historic road salt application records for a range of complex winter storm events. This novel model can help more accurately prescribe the right amount(s) of road salt to be applied at the right time interval(s) on roadways and parking lots for a given winter storm event based on the real-time weather forecasts, available through the Road Weather Information System (RWIS), to protect the salt vulnerable areas. We will develop a LIDAR salt dispense measuring feedback loop system to allow the smart salt truck to self-calibrate and will create a graphical Human Machine Interface (HMI) for the operators to select routes and GPS-enabled salting profiles via a record and playback configuration or via a real-time control web portal design. The ultimate goal is to develop the next generation of the smart salt trucks equipped with intelligent systems that would allow for optimized salt application plan for higher road safety while better protecting identified salt vulnerable areas and at a lower cost.