Optimal routes for heavy transport

A new speed model that can calculate realistic travel times between destinations has been developed by SINTEF scientists; in due course, the new model will replace the one in the EFFEKT simulation program used by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The new model can be used in map-based navigation systems for the transport market and in digital road networks in route-planning and vehicle fleet control applications.

The project entitled “Speed model for industrial transportation” estimates travel times for heavy goods vehicle transport between destinations on the basis of the state of the highway network. In order to obtain optimal routes for heavy vehicle transport, measurements of heavy vehicle speeds were linked to road descriptions obtained from the National Highways Databank. The equipment used in the vehicles that carried out the trials consisted of relatively inexpensive GPS and data-logging instruments.