May 07-11 Highway Deer ID System Matthew Bonneau Nathan Schoening Steve Schreiber Tony DeLouis
Project Description The objective of this project is to design an automated system that could warn approaching vehicles that one or more deer is near either of the two shoulders in the next mile of highway where deer are common. Sections longer than one mile should be protected by sequential systems. It should alert the motorist when a deer enters the roadway from either side and continue the warning until the deer has exited the roadway. The system should be designed to operate in areas where a utility electricity supply is not readily available.
Assumptions The system should be installable and maintainable by the average department of transportation laborer Needs to be economically viable, the system should be less expensive per mile than using fences, which appears to be the most effective passive alternative The system needs to be rugged enough to function year-round in remote locations with a minimum of maintenance It is impractical to design a system that is impervious to vehicle collisions; however, the system should not make an accident more severe
Limitations The system must protect one mile of highway while ignoring cross streets and bridges The system must be able to function without a connection to the electric grid The system must be able to detect a deer 25 feet away from the road and track it across the highway until it is no longer a hazard The system should not be susceptible to excessive nuisance alarms
Implemented Layout
System Block Diagram
Power Block Diagram
Recommendation There has been a similar system implemented by Kelly Gordon. The system report stated that the motorists would not slow down much due to a system with flashing lights. Motorists would slow down an average of 0.7 MPH if no deer were present and the sign was not flashing, an average of 1.4 MPH if no deer were present and the sign was flashing and an average of 3.6 MPH if there were deer present and the sign was flashing. Kelly Gordon determined that the slight decrease in speed would not likely decrease the deer-vehicle collision enough to make the system advisable (Gordon 553).
Foot Step Frequencies
Foot Step Frequencies