Clarus: The National Surface Transportation Weather Observing and Forecasting System

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Clarus The National Surface Transportation
Weather Observing and Forecasting System

• Roemer M. Alfelor
• FHWA Office of Transportation Operations
• Washington DC

December 1, 2004 MnDOT Regional Traffic
Management Center Roseville, MN
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FHWA Road Weather Management

• Objectives To better understand the impacts of
• weather on highways, and develop and deploy
• strategies that can mitigate those impacts,
  through
• the following activities
• Partnership and Collaboration
• Customer Service and Outreach
• Tools and Technologies
• Maintenance Decision Support
• Weather-Responsive Traffic Management
• Road Weather Observing/Forecasting Systems
• Program Management and Evaluation

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Clarus Observing System

• What
• Demonstration of a regional road weather
  observation and forecasting system, and
  partnership to establish a nationwide road
  weather observation network.
• Why
• To reduce the impact of adverse weather on all
  road and transit users and operators.

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Clarus Context Diagram
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Clarus Use Case Scenario
Provide ESS Data
Collect, Check, Flag and Send RWIS Data
Traffic Operations Center
Clarus
Provide Nowcast and Forecast
ESS Data Collector/RWIS
ESS Equipment
Provide Other DecisionSupport Info
Provide Vehicle Data
Collect, Check, Flag and Send Vehicle Data
Transfer Quality Controlled Data
Patrol or Maintenance Vehicle
Service Provider
Vehicle Data Collector
Network Operator
Collect External Weather Data
Compare RWIS and Vehicle Data with External
Weather Data
Integrate and Transform Service Provider Data
External Weather Data Sources
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Clarus System Applications
Spawn New technologies (in vehicle, PDA)
Add Detail to HAR VMS
Route Specific Radio,TV and Internet Broadcasts
of Travel Conditions
Clarus
Enhance decision making tools
Credible Precise Travel Advice
Create New and More Effective Ways to Convey
Surface Transportation Weather Information
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Benefits of Clarus

• A stable and reliable access to integrated
  surface transportation weather related
  observations
• Continuous quality control with feedback to
  customers
• Data available in one common format with full
  metadata
• Data provided without post-processing, ready to
  be incorporated into value-added products
  including weather and traffic models as well as
  decision support systems
• Support for the inclusion of new technologies
  such as vehicle-based sensing technologies,
  surface visibility information from traffic
  cameras, and remote sensing technologies

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Clarus Roadmap
FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07 FY08 FY09
Stakeholder Coordination
Track 1
System Design
Track 2
Multi-State Regional Demonstration
Track 3
Final Design and Deployment
Track 4
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Clarus Roadmap - Status

• Stakeholder Coordination
• ICC established and first meeting held
  in Sept. 04
• Concept of Operations
• User Needs and Use Case Drafts(on website)
• ICC Meeting/ConOps Review 03/02/05
• Final Draft 05/06/05
• System Design
• RFP issued 11/19/04
• 20 Months beginning on or about 06/01/05
• Systems Engineering stages following Concept of
  Operations
• Proof-of-Concept

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Clarus ICC - Membership

• Who is this open to?
• Open to all -- Meteorological and Transportation
  Communities.
• What level of activity is expected?
• Up to the individual. ICC is meant to provide the
  stakeholders a voice.
• Is everything left to consensus?
• The ICC Management Team makes final decisions
  with input from ICC.

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Clarus ICC - Organization
Clarus
Initiative
Management Team
DOT Consultant

USDOT

AMS
Team

NOAA

ITE

ITS America

AASHTO

TRB
Clarus Initiative
Coordinating
Committee (ICC)
Project Task
Project Task
Project Task
Force
Force
Force
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Clarus Applied Research

• Vehicle Infrastructure Integration and Data
  Collection Enhancement
• CCTV Technologies for Road Condition and
  Visibility
• Phased Array Radar for Near Surface Observing
• Remote Sensing from NASA Satellites

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Related FHWA Activities

• ESS Siting Guidelines
• Missouri DOT Weather Response System for Traffic
  Management
• Integration of Weather Information in TMCs and
  TOCs
• Maintenance Decision-Support System (MDSS)
  Technology Transfer and Pooled Fund Study
• Empirical Studies on Weather and Traffic
• Integrating RWIS Data into MADIS

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Contact Info

• Paul Pisano
• Team Leader, Road Weather Management Program
• paul.pisano_at_fhwa.dot.gov, 202-366-1301
• Roemer Alfelor
• Transp. Specialist, Road Weather Mgmt. Program
• roemer.alfelor_at_fhwa.dot.gov, 202-366-9242
• James Pol
• Transp. Specialist, ITS Joint Program Office
• james.pol_at_fhwa.dot.gov, 202-366-4374
• Program Web Sites
• http//www.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/
• http//www.its.dot.gov/
• http//www.clarusinitiative.org