News

  • 5.11.2021 Related article: Sky view factors and local horizon angles on the Sodankylä 5G test track
  • 10.9.2021 Illustrative video of autonomous miniature vehicle 5gsafeplus.fmi.fi
  • Results about IoT sensor network will be presented in EMS2021 conference on Thursday 9.9.2021 Topic of the presentation is "Experiences in using low-cost sensors to observe road weather". During winter 2020, around 100 autonomous IoT sensors measuring air temperature and humidity were installed along a motorway in southern Finland and at the Sodankylä airport test track. FMI has been studying how well these measurements correspond to normal weather station and road weather station measurements. According to the results, solar radiation often causes warm bias to the measurements during spring and autumn. However, installing sensors inside radiation shields reduces this bias. Overall, inside the radiation shields the measurements correspond rather well to reference measurements. The conference is organized online: https://www.ems2021.eu/home.html
  • 12.8.2021 Intelligent, energy-efficient traffic light software model ready for deployment.
    The concept model of intelligent, energy efficient traffic light system software and concept is now ready for the deployment. The objective has been to develop traffic light system which can operate with battery power (independently with e.g. solar panels in the future), performing intelligent priority traffic and approach guidance operations. The logical software has been designed, along with the deployment model design. The final steps are now to 3D-print the traffic light-covering structure for the electronics and deploy the system into the Sod5G-test track for field testing. The whole system should be ready for the field tests during August.
  • 28.7.2021 Autonomous miniature vehicle reached autonomous operation.
    Finnish Meteorological Institute's autonomous miniature vehicle was successfully completing the autonomous drive on pre-defined route within Sod5G test track in Sodankylä. This progress allows us to proceed with testing autonomous vehicle tailored road weather services and safety alerts, miniature vehicle reacting to the cautions and instructions by driving mode adjustments, dodging or alternate route selection.
  • 7.06.2021 "Deployment and Analysis of Cooperative Intelligent Transport System Pilot Service Alerts in Real Environment"
    Muhammad Naeem Tahir, Kari Mäenpää, Timo Sukuvaara and Pekka Leviäkangas, "Deployment and Analysis of Cooperative Intelligent Transport System Pilot Service Alerts in Real Environment", IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, IEEE Open Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems (2021), DOI: 10.1109/OJITS.2021.3085569 , 2021
  • 27.5.2021 New 5G NR test network operating in 3.5 GHz band launched in Sodankylä at full scale (2st phase).
    The 5G test network in the Sod5G test track is operating with 5G NR hardware operating in 3.5 GHz band as non-standalone 5G network. The test track has now been supplemented with additional base-station unit, implemented into a new instrument mast. Based on our preliminary analysis, the 5G NR network is now available throughout the track, along with the ITS-G5 network available in road weather stations vicinity area. The work has been conducted in 5G-SAFE-PLUS project.
  • 16.4.2021 The final version of “Energy-efficient Methods in Arctic Traffic: State-of-the-Art report”
  • 4.3.2021 The final draft of “Energy-efficient Methods in Arctic Traffic: State-of-the-Art report”
    Finnish Meteorological Institute possesses lot of experience and knowledge on energy efficiency and exploitation of renewable energy resources in different research and operational services. This experience has been exploited in the EMAL project, in process of creating the state-of-the-art report of available and applicable methods for improving energy efficiency and ecology of arctic traffic environment. This State-of-the-Art document provides background information and context for the energy-efficient methods in Arctic traffic. The background information is an overview of areas relevant to energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions related to traffic infrastructure. Areas such as energy supply, distribution and storage, communications, measurement systems and technologies, road and roadside infrastructures as well as built environments overall are considered in this report.

  • 15.2.2021 New 5G NR test network operating in 3.5 GHz band launched in Sodankylä (1st phase). The 5G test network in the Sod5G test track has now been updated to 5G NR hardware operating in 3.5 GHz band as non-standalone 5G network. In the first stage, existing base-station hardware and antenna systems have been updated for the new radio system. Test track will be supplemented with additional base-station unit, implemented into a new instrument mast. The work has been conducted in 5G-SAFE-PLUS project.
  • 27.10.2020 Autonomous drone with docking station arrived to FMI
    RumbleTools has delivered and installed new autonomous drone system with a docking station to FMI facilities in Sodankylä. At this moment the docking station and drone are located in FMI facilities in Tähtelä, but the ultimate piloting location is on the Sod5G vehicle winter testing track, on the vicinity of the road weather station. The main piloting scenario of this system is the drone-assisted road weather station observations, in which the drone patrols automatically in the road stretch between two road weather stations, providing supplemental road weather observations from the route.

  • 3.8.2020 Larger framework to the miniature vehicle purchased
    Larger framework to the miniature vehicle has been purchased, as the RC-vehicle body has been found too small and inefficient for carrying multiple autonomous vehicle monitoring instruments. The development work of autonomous driving procedures continues in parallel with RC-vehicle body and larger framework, RC-body remaining as a platform for the pilot system development and the larger framework as actual piloting platform.

  • 27.4.2020 Miniature vehicle capable of operation in outside purchased
    RC-vehicle platform with single-board computer as steering unit has been purchased in parallel research project. This device is able to operate in outside conditions, and it will replace the DJI Robomaster S1 as development platform of autonomous driving.

  • 7.4.2020 Vehicle radars purchased
    Continental vehicle radars have been purchased in parallel research project. In the EMAL-perspective, they will be implemented to a vehicle in order to conduct autonomous monitoring with miniature vehicle.

  • 25.3.2020 Lidar instruments purchased
    Velodyne Surround-view Lidar instruments have been purchased in parallel research project. In the EMAL-perspective, they will be implemented to a vehicle in order to conduct autonomous monitoring with miniature vehicle.

  • 16.3.2020 IoT sensor network implemented
    The Sod5G test track has been equipped with altogether 9 road weather sensors jointly conducting weather measurements in the track and delivering measurement data via periodical Lorawan IoT communication. Sensor locations are viewed in the test track figure below, as numbered items 1-9.

  • Project started 2.9.2019