What if cars could predict if a road is icy or wet? Learn how MobilityXlab partners and Klimator collaborate for safer mobility

Have you ever had problems braking or controlling your car in snowy weather? According to data published by the European Road Safety Observatory (ERSO), 19% of road fatalities in Sweden occurred on roads with snow, frost, ice, or slush. Although these accidents could be prevented by winter road maintenance strategies, startup-corporate collaboration may find another solution: one of the MobilityXlab partners and startup Klimator are investigating if cars can predict road conditions and offer adequate support for the driver.

In a PoC, Klimator’s road weather intelligence software AHEAD was used to analyze road condition data captured by sensors and predict the conditions up to 50 meters in front of the car. In this project, different reflections on the surface of a test track were collected. The next step is expanding the results of the PoC to understand the potential and to understand the data in a more extended project connected to defined use cases.

In the future, the results from this PoC could be used to develop systems that alert and support the driver in controlling the car during snow or rain, but also to increase safety by including road weather information in autonomous driving (AD) systems.

Klimator and the MobilityXlab partners met in the beginning of 2023, when the startup joined the program’s Batch 10. Founded in 2001 by two PhDs in road climatology, Klimator offers road weather solutions, combining sensors, software, and cloudware for the automotive sector and winter maintenance providers. 

To Viktoria Bogren, Head of Business Area Automotive at Klimator, MobilityXlab presents a unique opportunity for startups to validate and create a product with the program’s partners. “We have been able to see in practice the potential of enhancing existing hardware with our software and finding synergies with the partners at MobilityXlab, and that has been very valuable,” she adds.