A key factor for vehicle safety is the coefficient of friction between tires and pavement. Black ice, snow, rain and other conditions create hazardous conditions because tires do not grip the roads as well. Tire manufacturers spends billions in R&D to improve their tires’ performance profile under a variety of conditions. State DOT’s have a mission to keep the driving public safe through maintenance and road hazard warnings.

We think we can help. Sensar is developing a sensor system to measure the coefficient of friction. We believe visualizing a tire’s slip/grip as a sensor-driven hologram in AR will help teach the engineering principles of friction. In aggregate, identifying hazardous road segments in real time helps DOT’s fulfill their mission.

Displaying hazardous road segments on a 3D map hologram enables full context decision making about road treatments and public hazard warnings.

Our first tests of the coefficient of friction system were on bicycles in beautiful Red Rocks Park west of Denver Colorado. Enjoy this video of science in action!