Highway Helper Development

Background
The Highway Monitor was a system targeted for a large urban region that wanted to have a real‐time support system to allow the service teams to communicate. The system would allow them to dispatch and track freeway service patrol and traffic management teams over a wireless network. The freeway service patrol consisted of tow trucks that were contracted during rush four traffic to assist motorists. This assistance could come in the form of a gallon of gas, towing of the vehicle, to transporting of occupants of the vehicle, to ensure traffic congestion was minimized. Traffic management team vehicles also aided motorists by raising signs on their trucks to inform other motorists that they were approaching a potential traffic incident. These incidents could range from lane closures to detours.

Original Challenge
To provide this solution, an existing communications system solution targeted for police, fire, and ambulance teams was modified to meet the specific needs for this new end customer.

Successes & Lessons Learned
The solution consisted of a networked set of applications, exchanging data over wired and/or wireless networks and utilizing a common system database. Dispatch officers had the capability to see where all team members were located throughout the city by viewing a live moving map of the city with vehicle locations shown directly on the map. These officers could assign personnel to traffic incidents to provide the best response time and service.

Mobile personnel of the freeway service patrol and traffic management teams also had the ability to see where their entire team was, through the same type of moving map display. Mobile personnel also could assign themselves to a traffic incident and update their progress and current location.

The entire system allowed two‐way communications between the entire team such that anyone on the team knew where incidents were located, who was responding to an incident, what the progress was, and when incidents were completed and closed.

Team Composition
The Genova development team worked closely with the system developer/integrator to provide a solid solution for the end customer. Genova provided full software development life‐cycle efforts while the system integrator provided hardware, system integration of hardware and software in their test labs, and end customer installation and training.

Genova Solution
Genova Technologies was responsible for all software development efforts on this system. This included:
• Requirements definition and analysis
• Software design and development
• Database design and development
• System messaging protocol design
• Test plan and procedures
• Software verification and validation
• Technical documentation for ongoing maintenance

Skills

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