Ground breaking digital platform to manage the impact of winter weather in ground transportation

Vaisala have launched a key solution through its digital business, Vaisala Digital, which creates industry-leading digital solutions to support customers with weather critical operations. Vaisala Wx Horizon is the first-ever observation-driven digital offering which is designed specifically for the ground transportation industry, where the company already has a strong presence through its industry-leading sensor technology, both mobile and stationary.

“Wx Horizon delivers timely, accurate winter road condition intelligence to arm agencies with the weather data required to keep roads safe,” said Markus Melin, Vice President of Vaisala Digital. “Combining our industry-leading sensors and world-class forecasting capabilities, Wx Horizon blends selected weather and operational inputs to our unique models to determine when and where weather impacts will occur. By knowing when the storm will occur and the form it will take, agencies can better optimise resources to respond to that event.”

By aggregating, analysing, and visualising real-time road data from mobile sensors, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, road weather information systems (RWIS), and environmental sensor stations (ESS) using a secure, cloud-hosted interface, Wx Horizon provides municipalities and state departments of transportation with a clear picture of the road state so decision-makers can take immediate action to ensure safety on their roadways.

The digital offering fuses various input data, including mobile observations, to continuously improve route-based forecast outputs. Wx Horizon leverages industry-leading forecasting models that provide accurate information of near-term weather impact on travel. Utilizing the Wx Horizon service, decision-makers are able to determine next steps more efficiently and consistently. Built in collaboration with the user community to provide actionable and accurate data, the tool empowers municipal and highway transportation professionals with the ability to stay ahead of changes in weather and make accurate, informed decisions on when – and how – to keep roads safe.

Wx Horizon equips decision-makers with all of the information they need to decide when and where to deploy their fleet and therefore maintain safer roads. After analysing the current and forecasted conditions, Wx Horizon helps managers prioritise treatments, optimise salt and liquid usage, and plan equipment resources efficiently to combat the impact of winter weather on roadways. Vaisala’s new platform provides observations, current assessments, and near-future forecasting of road conditions in one interface, saving valuable time it also optimises financial investment and resources for maximum benefits.