Design process of an Android application for measuring and displaying road conditions

Abstract: The status of our roads and the possibility to monitor the conditions of them are becoming more and more important due to the steady increase of vehicles populating them. This thesis aims to improve a system for which purpose is to gather data about the status of roads, which the Swedish company Klimator develops. With more frequently measured roads saltand plowing efforts could be optimized and individual consumers would be able to know if a road is suitable for driving. The main component in Klimator’s system is a laser sensor that measures a road’s current status by directing three laser beams towards the surface and measuring their individual responses. Before this thesis the laser sensor was connected by physical wires to a logger box. The authors were to design and prototype an Android application to explore the possibility to replace this hardware, add Bluetooth capability and add a new layer of functions above, especially one which displayed the current slipping hazard. All throughout the design and prototype process of the application interaction design was in focus, to provide it with an enhanced user experience. The main issue which was considered and managed, was how to give the driver information about the current slipping hazard without drawing the driver’s attention away from the driving. Improvements on the old system were achieved and also reflections on how Klimator could potentially continue the development of the project, i.e. highlighting issues and unimplemented but interesting functions.