INSIDE - Integrated Safety Critical DGNSS Service

The aim of INSIDE is the development of a first demonstrator of a GNSS based information system to support drivers of snow groomers. The snow groomers will be equipped with a GNSS receiver and an automotive computer as central processing device. The touch screen displays the actual position and the infrastructure and dangerous areas on a digital map as background. Furthermore, tracks of already prepared slopes will be highlighted to avoid multiple preparation work.

Short Description

The Austrian Alps are famous for hiking in summer and skiing in winter. In the tight competition of ski resorts, prefect ski slopes are a key factor for economic success.

The preparation process is done mainly during the night time for safety reason. If the weather is snowy, foggy and windy, orientation in the difficult area is very hard due to poor visibility. Consequently, on the one hand, outages in the preparation decrease the quality of the ski slopes and therefore the acceptance by skiers. On the other hand, overlapping increases costs for fuel, time and equipment. Beside these monetary effects, drivers of snow groomers cannot see topographically dangerous areas, such as steep gradients, in bad weather situations.

During the preparation process, the trajectories and vehicle date of snow groomers are recorded. After work, the data is transferred by a WLAN connection to a central server. This documentation of driving can finally be used for employee payment and optimization of trajectories and preparation work.

Beside this complete vehicle management, the GNSS positioning of snow groomers is monitored by a sophisticated software module. The software generates status information from EGNOS and EDAS data as well as from actual measurements from GNSS receivers in the application area. Based on these integrated data, augmentation data are calculated and broadcasted to the snow groomers in action. In case of system discrepancies or positioning problems, the driver immediately gets a message on the screen in the vehicle telling him that the system must not be used for safe navigation.

By the use of the INSIDE demonstrator, the comfort and safety of slope preparation can be increased. Further developments and enhancements are in progress and will support ski resorts by an innovative system to be competitive in winter sport tourism.

Project Partners

Coordinator

GeoMatica OG

Contact Address

GeoMatica OG
Krangl 1
A-9863 Rennweg
Tel.: +43 (4734) 44738
Fax: +43 (4734) 44738
E-mail: office@geomatica.at