Here is the software that measures the thickness of the snow – Trentino

  TRENTO. Knowing the thickness of the snow cover and manage the distribution of the snow for a smooth and safe track. Today there is a new tool to the aid of those who work on the ski slopes. It’s called NeviMeter and is powered by startup thirty AlpiMetric, born thanks to the Seed Money Fund-ERDF co-funded by the Autonomous Province of Trento and managed by Trentino Development. After an initial phase of research the instrument was tested on Monte Bondone with the cooperation of “gattisti” Trento Funivie. An ideal winter, the latter, to test the new measuring system: first little snow, that made it essential to better distribute the precious flakes fired from cannons, then heavy snowfalls that have allowed to check for leaks in limit for the ‘situations entire month of March.

 

 

Alessandro Rizzi (left), founder and manager of technical AlpiMetric with a colleague

 Developed the prototype, AlpiMetric will work in the coming months to perfect the software interface to get it ready to “conquer” other ski resorts from the next winter season. Are 17.00, the ski slopes on Mount Bondone, a few kilometers from the city of Trento, have just closed and go into action “snowmobiles” to beat the snow and make it homogeneous, ready to welcome skiers in the morning following. A job that requires little experience but now can also count on new technologies in the field of information.
 

 Cesare Bazzanella, one of the “gattisti” Trento Ski lifts, is going along the track “Three Three Overview” and beside him was a tablet. Moves across the display the measurements of the snowpack, updated four times per second. If the color is green, everything is ok. Yellow and red on the other hand indicate a thinner coat, to be monitored or to be tackled promptly. The device that is using the operator is called NeviMeter, one survey tool devised by the thirty AlpiMetric, born thanks to the support Notice Seed Money, the fund managed by Trentino Development and co-financed by the Autonomous Province of Trento and the European Commission (ERDF) for the promotion and dissemination of innovative business initiatives in sectors or high-tech. The members of AlpiMetric combine long experience in Italy and abroad in the field of scientific research with new entrepreneurial skills.

 

 “The idea – explained Alessandro Rizzi, founder and manager of technical AlpiMetric – stems from the desire to create a mobile device that can estimate the thickness of the snow cover in real time and with accuracies centimeter through the assembly of positioning instruments and miniaturized inertial low cost and the development of advanced algorithms for signal processing of the data. ” The process that led to the trial phase this winter was launched in 2014 with the relief of a short stretch of track in the autumn, the perfect season to map the terrain thanks to the absence of snow and excess vegetation. Subsequently, with the arrival of winter, a first prototype of a wooden sled and some tests were performed, with encouraging results has been installed.

 

 The following year it was made a new survey of the land, this time extended to the whole stretch of the tracks “Three Three Overview” and “Cordella” and kicked off experimenting with the device mounted on the snowmobile, in collaboration with the facilities management company, Trento Funivie. During the entire ski season the company has remained in constant contact with “gattisti” which, thanks to their experience, have collaborated on the development by offering valuable insights and suggestions to improve the device. On a practical level, the instrument is placed on the snowmobile and cross on location data and trim the NeviMeter, how it moves and how fast. All this information is processed and compared with the portion of the land, so by calculating the thickness of the snow cover. The results are visible on the tablet while typing and transferable on PC. Defined the prototype, the company is now focusing on the improvement of the graphical interface displayed on the tablet and on the development of software that allows plant operators to consult and process all the data collected. The potentialities are many and include, for example, the saving of human, Water and Electricity, thanks to a better knowledge of the actual conditions of the snowpack.