The visual distance of industrial cameras varies with exposure time during blowing snow

Date and Time: Wednesday, May 10, 2023: 8:20 AM - 10:00 AM
Location: Keck 100

 

Lead Presenter:  Toshimitsu Sakurai, Researcher
Affiliation:  Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region
Social Media Handle:  Toshimitsu Sakurai

Lead Presenter Biography

Toshimitsu Sakurai received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Hokkaido University in 2010. He works at the Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute. His current research interests include countermeasures for blowing snow; metal- and living-snow fences, sensor development, and anti-snow and -ice accretion development. His areas of expertise include snow and ice physics, laser technology, field science, and snow and ice engineering.
Prior bio achievements, see ORCiD (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9943-361X). 

Co-Authors

Toshimitsu Sakurai, Ph.D. Researcher,
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute

Hirotaka Takechi, Researcher,
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute

Tetsuya Kokubu, Senior Researcher,
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute

Atsushi Nishimura, Team Leader,
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute

Masaru Matsuzawa, Ph.D. Director,
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region, Public Works Research Institute

Presentation Description 

Poor visibility during blowing snow can cause a chain-reaction and sometimes result in traffic fatalities. Therefore, an accurate understanding of visibility during blowing snow is important to provide drivers with safe traffic and road administrators with accurate road traffic information. We examine the visual distance of industrial cameras varying with exposure time during blowing snow in Hokkaido, Japan. Two industrial cameras which we used were set on the windshield of the weather observation vehicle. The two cameras are for comparison of the difference in how a visual distance changes and how we see suspended blowing snow particles when we use different exposure times with each camera. The exposure time is related to the visual distance because the suspended snow particles’ afterimages are identified and perceived as lines or tails. In general, the exposure time of the video camera cannot be set manually, while the industrial camera (WAT-2400S, WATEC Co. Ltd.) which we used can set the exposure time arbitrarily. The results show that the shorter the exposure time of the industrial camera, the longer the visual distance. The images were taken by the industrial cameras while driving the vehicle during blowing snow. The result suggests that monitoring blowing snow by using cameras with properly adjusted exposure times will provide accurate visibility information to road administrators and provide more clear sight with shorter exposure time on vehicle cameras to motorists.

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