Maryland: Mobile road sensors in
use to optimize winter maintenance
with road surface condition
sensors and weather sensors
to get important road weather
data back to the traffic
management center (TMC).
The stations detect a variety
of parameters including road
conditions, friction, water film
heights, temperature, relative
humidity, air pressure, wind
direction and wind speed.
However, fixed stations are
unable to cover every lane mile
in the state. Enter Marwis, a
mobile sensor capable of filling
in these gaps and giving MDOT
SHA the ability to have a much
clearer picture of what is going
on throughout the state and not
just at 130 fixed points.
Due to the inclement winter
weather in Maryland, road
maintenance can be very
challenging. The state has
similar conditions to central
Europe, where it has cold and
Technology Profile |
The Maryland Department
of Transportation State
Highway Administration
(MDOT SHA) is a division of the
Maryland Department of
Transportation (MDOT). It is
responsible for building and
maintaining Maryland’s
numbered non-tolled highways
and bridges outside of
Baltimore, clearing snow from
the state’s major thoroughfares,
administering the State’s ‘adopta
highway’ program to avoid
littering along the roads, and
managing the development and
servicing of the State’s freeway
and expressway system.
Statewide management
MDOT SHA’s territory
comprises more than 17,000
lane miles, which need to be
managed and cleared when
necessary. To help them with
this, they operate more than
130 stationary road weather
information stations equipped
| Need to know
Marwis is a mobile
road sensor that
measures elements
spanning from road
condition and friction,
to surface temperature
and water film height
Traffic Technology International September/October 2019
www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com
084
Marwis works by means
of LED transmitters, photos
receivers and an infrared
pyrometer. The necessary
calculations take place in the
sensor directly, offering an
output rate of up to 100
measurements per second. Thus,
it is capable of delivering data in
real time, transferring the data
wirelessly via Bluetooth, hardwired
via RS485 or CAN-Bus.
Lufft also offers software in
the form of a free Android or iOS
App for in vehicle data
visualization and back end
software for the TMC is
available. ViewMondo can easily
display both stationary and
mobile UMB road weather
stations. It receives the data
via a SIM card of the used tablet,
smartphone or router, making
it a pure plug-and-play data
transfer device without
any display.
A new trial
In the summer of 2018, MDOT
SHA decided to start a pilot
project for which they ordered
50 Marwis. It turned out to be
the largest roll out in the US
to date, making the state the
largest user of the new,
innovative technology.
To prepare their staff for the
Marwis roll out, Lufft provided
> In 2018, MDOT SHA start
a pilot project where 50
vehicles have been
equipped with the mobile
road sensor Marwis
> MDSHA has been utilizing
Marwis since mid-January
2019 to monitor their
roadways and learn how
Marwis can help them to
optimize their winter
maintenance program
Above: Lufft’s Vehiclemounted
Marwis sensors
deliver data in real time
Left: There are over
130 stationary weather
stations in Maryland
wet winters and a few beautiful
sunny months. Temperatures
reach from about 18°F (-8°C)
to +90°F (+32°C). Average
temperatures in Maryland are
about 80°F (27°C) in July and
35°F (+2°C) in January.
Communication Electronics
Inc. (CEI), a channel partner of
the Marwis manufacturer Lufft
since May of 2011, has worked
closely with MDSHA and Lufft
to develop a statewide
deployment of advanced
weather sensors. CEI has been
responsible for the State’s Lufft
Marwis procurement, site
installations and maintenance.
In 2014, Lufft launched a
new mobile road weather sensor
named Marwis. This technology
measures many of the same
parameters that a fixed Lufft
station does, from road condition
and friction to water film height
and surface temperature.
/www.TrafficTechnologyToday.com