NIRA Dynamics recently rolled out a brand new feature for cars, expected to significantly increase road safety. The feature continuously monitors the road friction in real-time. This information is sent from numerous cars to a central server, from which it is sent out to other cars approaching the area – providing them with relevant road information and timely slip hazard warnings.
During the winter of 2016/2017, NIRA provided the Swedish Transport Administration and Klimator AB with software for a large number of cars, to continuously monitor the road conditions. The gathered information is sent to NIRA’s servers, where it’s aggregated to provide real-time insights about the road conditions.
The new feature, called Road Surface Information, not only provides drivers with slip warnings. Self-driving cars also need to be aware of the traction and braking distance at any time – and so, with Road Surface Information, yet another important step is taken towards enabling the safe self-driving cars of the future.
As a positive side-effect, NIRA’s software also facilitates more efficient and environmentally-friendly winter road maintenance, resulting in significant cost savings.
During the last few years, NIRA Dynamics have invested substantial resources into establishing a position as a unique supplier of solutions for collecting road data in real-time. Today, the company also has a presence in Silicon Valley.
Swedish television SVT recently published a feature on the solution:
http://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/vast/uppkopplade-fordon-varnar-for-halka
ABOUT NIRA: Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Sweden, NIRA Dynamics is at the forefront of sensor fusion, providing cost-efficient, value-adding services – including safety, advanced driver assistance and autonomy functions – to the global vehicle industry. Customers include some of the world’s leading car manufacturers, such as Audi, Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Volvo, Fiat and Renault.