PI: Yang-Ki Hong, University of Alabama.
Project Description:
Almost 45% of Michigan vehicle accidents in December, January, and February occur on snowy, icy, or slushy roads, according to state data [Mlive.com]. The snow/ice/slush layer’s depth and density determine whether the vehicle is safe on an icy road or not. Furthermore, the snow in Antarctic inland imposes unexpected accidents from the danger of snow-bridge collapse. The snow-bridge disguises a vertical void (20-50 m deep), also known as a crevasse, with shallow snow and may cause a fatal injury, including death, to researchers and land vehicle [R. Jenssen et al., IEEE Trans. Instr. Meas., 61, 1, Jan 2020]. One can prevent these losses by measuring the snow depth, on-road snow accumulation rate, and crevasse. To accomplish the above goals, we propose a new design of a lightweight, low-cost, and portable RF system mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles, including drone.