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LaneWarden

System

Five layers, one accountable team

Field nodes sense and inform. Software on every node makes local decisions. Two carriers carry the data. Command runs the rules and keeps the record. People keep it all working. Each layer can be replaced without touching the others.
See the rules runOperating logic

Architecture

From the trailer to the report

Select a layer to see what it does and what it guarantees.

Layer 1

Field nodes

Solar trailers and small devices that sense and inform

Signs, radars, cameras, beacons and worker alerts, each on its own solar power. Every trailer that can carry a radar does, so detection comes with the signs instead of in addition to them.

  • Messenger, Pace, Lookout, Sentinel, Pulse, Entry Alert, Marker and Arrow Link
  • 4 hours of sun, 10 days of autonomy, automatic restart
  • GPS on every node, reported within 10 ft

Operating logic

The rules, written down

Thresholds are agreed with the agency in the system plan. These are the defaults the design starts from, and the rules the live demo runs.

Queue warning

When
Detection shows moderate (20 to 45 mph) or heavy (under 20 mph) traffic.
Then
SLOW TRAFFIC AHEAD, or STOPPED TRAFFIC AHEAD / BE PREPARED TO STOP, on the right sign.
  • States start after two consecutive 60-second bins and end after three, so messages do not flicker.
  • The message goes on the most downstream sign that is at least ½ mile before the estimated tail: at least 30 s of warning at 60 mph.
  • If the tail is within 1,000 ft past a crest, the warning uses a sign at least 1,000 ft before that crest.
  • Messages follow MUTCD §6L.05: three lines of eight characters, at most two phases.

Delay and queue length

When
Measured travel time exceeds free-flow time by 15 or 20 minutes, or a queue passes its allowed length.
Then
Text and email to the traffic control supervisor: get ready to reopen at 15 minutes, reopen and notify at 20.
  • Travel times per direction from Bluetooth readers, cross-checked with speed data.
  • Every event is logged, which settles disputes about delay and supports variance requests.

Speed management

When
Workers are present (crew schedule plus Sentinel activity).
Then
Pace signs show the work zone limit; otherwise the normal limit.
  • Remote changes for ice or incidents stay inside the approved envelope.
  • Every change is logged with who made it and why.

Worker protection

When
A vehicle crosses the taper, is on an intrusion path, or cannot stop for the flagger.
Then
Siren and strobes at the Sentinel, SMS to the foreman, video clip in Command.
  • Runs on the trailer; it never waits for the network.
  • Cone-mounted impact sensors alert crew wearables independently of the Sentinel.

Construction entry

When
Radar sees a truck heading from the access onto the highway.
Then
Beacons on the mainline sign 500 ft upstream flash for 30 to 45 seconds.
  • Activations are logged and published in the WZDx feed.

Hazardous conditions

When
Air temperature at or below 35 °F with precipitation or high humidity.
Then
ICE POSSIBLE / REDUCE SPEED on the approach signs and a notice to maintenance.
  • Uses the weather station on a Lookout at the grade or bridge that ices first.

Fail-safe

When
A sign loses the data its rules depend on.
Then
WORK ZONE / SLOW DOWN, set by the node itself, until the data returns.
  • The gap raises a device alert to the on-call technician at the same time.

Packaging

A backbone for the corridor, a kit for each direction

Everything that covers the whole project is in the backbone. Everything that follows the work is in the kit, so adding a work area means adding kits, and nothing else changes.
Work area 1KIT · EBKIT · WBWork area 2KIT · EBKIT · WBCORRIDOR BACKBONE, END TO ENDBackboneKit

Sized to the corridor

Corridor backbone

  • Messengers on each approach for queue warning and travel times
  • Lookouts at gateways and hot spots: video, radar, travel time, weather
  • Pulses between them so detection stays about a mile apart
  • Entry Alerts at haul roads, Markers at the project limits, Arrow Links on arrow boards
  • Command, communications and the operations team

One per direction, per active work area

One-direction kit

  • Messenger 1.0 to 1.5 mi upstream of the closure
  • Pace at the start of the reduced-speed zone
  • Sentinel at the taper or flagger station
  • Marker on the first channelizing device
  • Eight sensor cones and three crew wearables

The package grows by whole kits: two work areas running at once, in both directions, means four kits. Everything that scales with work areas, including setup, relocations and removal, sits in the kit.

LaneWarden Link

Every path the data takes

Nodes connect outbound only, through a VPN with IP allowlisting. No node in the field has an open inbound port.
Communications paths. A drive test on both carriers along the corridor comes before the system plan.
PathTechnologyUse
Node to CommandLTE/5G, dual SIMs on two carriers, automatic failoverTelemetry in 60-second bins, immediate events, configuration, video on demand
Satellite standbySatellite terminal on Lookouts at weak-coverage sitesOnly when both carriers fail; switched on by the router
Sensor cones to wearablesThe supplier's own local networkCone-strike alerts straight to the crew
Entry radar to signPoint-to-point radio, cellular backupBeacon trigger over about 500 ft
Command to the agencyHTTPS to the agency's endpointWZDx device feed every 60 seconds
Command to peopleSMS, email and the web interfaceAlerts to the engineer, supervisor, technician and traffic operations

Guides

Go deeper

All guides

Next step

Planning a work zone that needs to be smart?

Tell us about the corridor, the schedule and the specification. We will walk you through how the system would be laid out and run.

Talk to usRun the live demo