TORONTO, March 8, 2019 – A.U.G. Signals Ltd. and its project partners, the Civil Engineering Department at Lassonde School of Engineering, the Advanced Disaster, Emergency and Rapid-response Simulation Facility (ADERSIM) at York University, the York Regional Police (YRP) and the Ontario Good Roads Association (OGRA), was awarded a project contract under the Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP) on September 4th, 2018. This project is led by Defence Research and Development Canada’s Centre for Security Science (DRDC CSS) in partnership with Public Safety Canada and will provide $1.44 Million in cash.
Annually, a significant number of first responders are killed or injured attending to roadway emergencies. While many factors present dangers (weather, impaired driving, speeding), it is believed that most casualties can be avoided if the first responders are equipped with a technology that can detect the threat of oncoming vehicles and warn them before a collision. The following gaps will be addressed through the project:
- Accurate Detection and Localization: No affordable and portable systems are currently available.
- Threat Assessment: No efficient threat analysis system is in place capable of foreseeing accident risks and warning first responders in time to take adequate safety measures. Most existing systems have a high false alarm rate and frequent manual configuration make these products less reliable.
- Targeted Warnings: Existing systems do not send targeted warnings to the individual responder and motorists.
The objective of this three-year, collaborative project, ARGUS: Radar-based All-Weather Roadway Safety System is to demonstrate an effective and affordable all-weather solution to increase roadway safety for first responders. The direct involvement of first responders from YRP and traffic safety and emergency response experts from York University, is crucial to its success.
ARGUS combines a low-cost radar front-end (RFE)[1] with advanced analytics to detect threats accurately, and alerts first responders as well as motorists. Similarly, ARGUS will be a unique solution offering a vehicle-mounted radar with automated setup; 360-degree monitoring and target/threat classification; customized warnings to individual first responders, as well as driver warning.
For press and media enquiries, please contact: jenny@augsignals.com
[1] Compared to the SafetyZoneTM solution that uses Ranger EZ radars and costs USD 3,042.95, http://www.mphindustries.com/ranger-ez-radar/
A.U.G. Signals Ltd.: www.augsignals.com
Civil Engineering Dept. at the Lassonde School of Engineering: civil.lassonde.yorku.ca/
ADERSIM York University: adersim.info.yorku.ca
York Regional Police: www.yrp.ca/en/
OGRA: www.ogra.org
DRDC CSS: science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_97400.html