Smart road weather stations made in Estonia were installed in Tartu
Tartu City Government Press Release
/ Fifteen smart road weather stations developed in Estonia were installed on the streets of Tartu, which enable more accurate road maintenance and increase the safety of city streets.
According to Tartu Deputy Mayor Raimond Tamm, new road weather stations were installed in Tartu, in order to provide a faster overview of the condition of city streets and to inform road maintenance workers about possible slippery conditions or snowfall at an early stage. ‘Road weather stations not only report current conditions, but also send information to the control centre, where more accurate road weather forecasts are prepared. In this way, road maintenance workers can begin preparing at an early stage, for example, to prevent slipperiness or ploughing snow, which in turn helps to increase traffic safety in Tartu,’ said Tamm.
According to Märt Puusti, Project Manager at AS Teede Tehnokeskus, the company that installed the road weather stations, the road weather stations were installed in locations where obtaining accurate information is the most important – for example, where the road surface temperature drops below freezing first and the risk of sudden slipperiness is greatest.
Estonian companies Superhands and Teede Tehnokeskus were responsible for developing the road weather stations which are unique in the world. The station consists of an air temperature and humidity sensor with a central unit attached to a street light or traffic sign post with 3D-printed housing, and a temperature sensor installed in the road surface. In the future, it will be possible to add other sensors to the station, such as air quality sensors. The road weather station does not require an external power supply and uses the innovative NB-IoT network technology to transmit information.
New road weather stations were installed on the streets of Tartu in November, and Teede Tehnokeskus began providing the autonomous road weather monitoring and forecasting service to the City of Tartu this week.
Last changed 07.12.2021
