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by scarlson 3818 days ago
One would assume long term the snow plows would be automated as well, and therefore be clearing in a way automated cars would make best use of.

I'm curious how they'll handle whiteout conditions, however.

2 comments

You'd hope, but many area's "snow plowing" means the locals get together and hire someone with a road grating tractor to come and plow. AND if they have the extra budget toss some dirt on there.

:-) Obviously this doesn't apply to country or greater highways.

On the other extreme, Montreal's snow clearing costs an average of $155 million per year.
With I would assume a large portion of that going to labor costs. Automated snow plows could be a huge help.
Lane following tech is an area of active research for snow plows. I guess it frequently relies on installed roadside infrastructure though.

Edited to soften the first sentence, a quick search didn't find any active users, just research.