907-Plow - Anchorage´s approach to real-time snowplow tracking

We present a novel approach to tracking heavy machinery used as snowplows for the improvement of commuter safety. We have developed hardware designed for universal installation in snowplows that relay location and plow position data without human interaction over a cellular network to the real-time traffic simulator FreeSim [1-3]. FreeSim analyzes the data and overlays it onto Google Maps [4] by color-coded lines displaying the time elapsed since the roadway was last plowed. The plow position is determined utilizing magnetic fields between the plow blade and a stationary mount on the snowplow. By publicly displaying this information we aim to educate the end user with the current reported road conditions.