Similar in concept to my 'Google Shade Walk' idea. I shall explain.

Given known temperatures, known precipitation levels, known melting/evaporation rates, known amounts of shade/sunlight, known road surface materials, and a pretty good estimate of vehicle traffic, it should (according to my theory) be possible for a navigation app like Google Maps, MapQuest or TeleNav GPS to calculate a route along roads with the least amount of ice and hardpacked snow at any given time of day.

Thoughts?

Actually, it might even be able to plot the smoothest route, because roads tend to get bumpy with lots of traffic making potholes in the ice/hardpack. That might be predictable. My bloody serpentine belt worked itself loose and came off yesterday. Fortunately it was a simple matter of borrowing a 15 mm wrench from a nearby tow truck driver and I had it back on in about 10 minutes. But don't count pothole prediction as part of the idea, I'm a lot less certain of the feasibility of that part.
-- 21 Quest, Jan 08 2013

The routes with the least snow would probably have the heaviest traffic, and there in lies the tradeoff you're likely to run into.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 09 2013


Serpents need belts perhaps more than any other creatures. Without hands or pouches, how else are they to carry their gadgets around?
-- 21 Quest, Jan 10 2013


I noticed yesterday on Google Earth that I was seeing live-updated traffic speeds along highways. It shouldn't be much more difficult to add information about how many minutes since the last snowplow went past.
-- lurch, Jan 10 2013


That would be immensely helpful, Lurch.
-- 21 Quest, Jan 10 2013



random, halfbakery