Monitoring Snowbanks along Highways Using a Low-Cost Vehicle-Mounted Mobile Laser Scanning System
Takeshi Nakamura(a*), Takeshi Furukawa(b), Ryo Arakawa(b), Yukinobu Sugihara(a),Seiji Kamimura(a),Kazuyoshi Takahashi(a)

a)Nagaoka University of Technology
b)NEXCO-Engineering Niigata Co.,Ltd.

Abstract

Snowbanks that form along highways during winter can pose serious safety hazards if they collapse unexpectedly. Monitoring the geometry of these snowbanks in a timely and cost-effective manner is therefore essential for road management and snow removal planning. While high-end Mobile Laser Scanning (MLS) systems offer precise measurements, their cost is often expensive for regular operation.

This study investigates the feasibility of using a low-cost vehicle-mounted MLS system, originally developed for snow surveys on local roads, to monitor snowbanks along major expressways.
Field experiments were conducted on the Kanetsu Expressway in Japan, where the point clouds were obtained the both of the custom-built MLS system and a commercial, simplified MLS system (N-Quick) .

The resulting point clouds were compared in terms of density and cross-sectional snowbank profiles under different surface conditions?namely moist and wet pavements.
Preliminary results suggest that the low-cost MLS system can capture snowbank geometry with a level of accuracy comparable to that of the commercial system, particularly under dry or moderately moist conditions. However, challenges remain under more adverse conditions, such as wet pavement, where the system fs measurement performance may degrade.

Keywords: snowbank monitoring, mobile laser scanning, point cloud, highway, low-cost sensor

Topic: Topic B: Applications of Remote Sensing