Vaisala, the global leader in weather, environmental, and industrial measurements, today announced the launch of Vaisala Wx Horizon Premium, the latest subscription tier of its weather hazard information system for winter road maintenance organizations. Vaisala’s new Ground Cast Sensor is automatically integrated to Wx Horizon Premium which fuses local observation data with two of Vaisala’s industry-leading modeling systems: its best-in-class road weather model and a weather forecasting system that improves global weather forecasts specifically designed for use in transportation.
Wx Horizon Premium brings affordable, proactive winter treatment planning to all, enabling:
- Advanced planning of resources: 72-hour pavement forecast along with 10-day atmospheric forecasting
- Peace of mind: built-in alerting and automated notification services remove the burden of continuous monitoring
- Point forecast data where it’s needed most: user-defined virtual forecast points matched to operational needs
- Seamless integration with Vaisala’s road sensors: accurate local measurement data improves forecasting and empowers decision-makers
The new Vaisala Ground Cast Sensor makes additional world-class observations more feasible than ever and enables enhanced point forecasts as part of the Wx Horizon Premium subscription. It is an easy and affordable way to get key road weather measurements from critical locations that have not been covered before. It measures road temperature and the amount of treatment materials with the same performance as Vaisala’s industry-leading road weather stations.
The Ground Cast Sensor is designed to:
- Get reference grade observations from anywhere: it does not require external powering or any other infrastructure, making it completely wireless and ready to use straight from the box with reference level accuracy of ±0.2°C (±0.4°F)
- Enhance pavement forecasts: temperature measurement from surface and multiple depths: -6 cm (-2.4 in) and -30 cm (-11.8 in)
- Measure residual treatment material amount: to facilitate targeted treatments and validate the effectiveness, avoiding unnecessary use of treatment materials
- Remove complexities of data communication: Built-in narrow-band IoT connectivity working over cellular networks
All this information is automatically available in Wx Horizon Premium or alternatively as an API for integration into other systems. This subscription service ensures predictable operating costs and removes the need for network monitoring and dealing with complexities of data communication.
“Cloud computing combined with wireless connectivity enables the next level of measurement accuracy combined with unforeseen ease of use. We are very excited to launch this new subscription service, allowing users to make data-driven winter maintenance decisions,” says Samuli Hänninen, VP, Emerging Business Unit, Weather and Environment, Vaisala.
