SWORDS INTO SNOWPLOWS

By Prof. Shimon Silman, RYAL Institute and Touro College 

This Shabbos, Parshas Mishpatim, marks the beginning of the 25th year of Swords into Plowshares—the era which was inaugurated by the announcement of the heads of state of the major world powers, meeting at the United Nations, that they would no longer fight with each other but instead would cooperate with each other and use their resources to build a better world for the benefit of all mankind. Indeed, they would redirect and transform their military resources and technology for peaceful uses. This change in international relations, based on a fundamental change of attitude, was identified by the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach as the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah that in the Era of Moshiach the nations of the world would “beat their swords into plowshares.”

THE 25TH YEAR

Swords into Plowshares is big. Very big. It is happening all over the world. There is an entire research community devoted to analyzing it, there are international organizations dedicated to reporting on it, and major books have been written on it (not just Scientific Thought in Messianic Times).

So the question arose—what to focus on for my annual report? I decided to write a series of articles over the coming year, B’ezras Hashem, on various aspects of Swords into Plowshares. To start it off I decided to focus on what has been foremost in everyone’s mind recently—snow.

Yes, snow. The major snowstorms on the east coast of the United States and in Eretz Yisroel have been a major concern since days before the snow fell. And once the snow fell what was foremost in our minds? Well, getting it plowed.

That’s where the snowplows come in. Now, snowplows have been around for a long time, but they have their limitations. There are conditions in which snowplows, or any other vehicle, cannot function—such as zero visibility.

That’s where the satellites come in. In my book Scientific Thought in Messianic Times (STMT), I describe at length how satellites—including GPS—were originally developed for military purposes (see Chapter III, sec. 6). After Swords into Plowshares began there was a major shift—transformation—of their use to primarily peaceful purposes.

The use of GPS to guide snowplows was first developed by Professors Max Donath and Craig Shankwitz of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute at the University of Minnesota through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (see STMT, p. 255). In recent years this use of satellites to do the job has advanced greatly…

OPENING THE
MOUNTAIN PASS

Let’s go to Valdez, Alaska (where’s that?!). Alaska’s harsh winter weather—an annual average of 40 feet of snow and winds exceeding 140 mph—makes it difficult to keep roads clear. But Valdez is home to a vital port and a terminal for the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, so they have to keep its highway open and available to truck traffic. So Alaska implemented the GPS – and radar-based system developed at the University of Minnesota, and outfitted the snowplows with displays similar to those found in fighter planes—an all-electronic view of the highway and approaching vehicles. (This use of military technology is another aspect of Swords into Plowshares.)

The Alaska Department of Transportation (ADOT) originally outfitted one snow-blower and one snowplow with the high-tech equipment, which works to keep the driver in the highway lane while avoiding other vehicles and obstacles like guardrails. Before deploying the technology, operators would grind their snowplows against the guardrail and use it as a guide to follow the road. But that was costly because it eventually flattened the guardrails, which then needed to be replaced.

The setup is composed of three technologies:

First is differential GPS, which uses information from ground stations and satellites to pinpoint the vehicle’s location with an accuracy of 3 to 5 centimeters. Second is collision avoidance technology, which uses radar sensors and information from the vehicle positioning system to search for oncoming vehicles. Last is the driver interface where all the information comes together; it enables drivers to plow snow from the highway in conditions as bad as zero visibility. Using a heads-up display that lets drivers keep their eyes on the road, the visual interface shows lines that represent the highway’s center line and fog line (the white line painted on the right side of the road), as well as intersections and guardrails. The center and fog lines change color if the driver passes over them, and the seat vibrates and an audio alert can be used. The display also depicts oncoming vehicles and the image flashes as they get closer to the snowplow.

The first vehicles that were outfitted allowed operators to clear snow from Thompson Pass, a 2,800 foot high gap in the mountains northeast of Valdez, which is known as the snowiest place in Alaska. The ADOT has been continuously upgrading the technology and expanding its fleet of snowplows.

The system’s location capabilities were improved in October 2011 with the addition of a differential base station that receives information from U.S. and Russian satellites.

[This is yet another aspect of Swords into Plowshares. The Russians started the military competition with the U.S. in space by launching the first satellite—Sputnik—in 1957, leading to an endless series of U.S. and Russian spy satellites. But now we are using each other’s satellites and space vehicles.]

“The more satellites giving you the position, the higher the resolution that your fix is and the more constant fix you can get in bad weather,” according to Ocie Adams, a project manager for the ADOT. “And that’s when we need it the most, when it’s zero visibility and you can’t see beyond the hood of the vehicle.”

The Alaska truck drivers may be the ones who benefit the most from keeping the highways open because in some cases it costs them thousands of dollars every hour that they’re unable to move loads.

NOT JUST ALASKA

Other states, including Nevada, Michigan and Colorado, are also using this technology to guide their snowplows, and some states are using it to guide buses and trucks in snowstorms and other types of weather such as dense fog. (See STMT, pp. 254-256)

In Japan they have taken this one step further—they have eliminated the driver. They have developed a robot snowplow called Yuki-taro. It is a self-guided snow removal robot that includes a GPS positioning sensor and a pair of video cameras for eyes that help guide it around and avoid obstacles when ordered to clear away snow. The most interesting part of this robot may be what he does with the snow after he has collected it. Instead of throwing snow haphazardly around, like a regular snow blower, this robot has a built-in compressor that forms the snow into 28 lb. rectangular bricks (which can be used later for cooling purposes—or for kids to build igloos).

“FOR THE MAN IS A TREE OF THE FIELD”

I saw the tree standing alone in the deep snow

Its arms outstretched to heaven praying for life—new life

It knew that someday its prayers would be answered

That the snow would melt and the air would warm

And new life would flow through its veins.

And though it had never borne fruit

It believed that someday its barrenness would end

And it would bear fruit

Should I tell it that it’s Yemos HaMoshiach

And that the day it awaits is today?

This article should be a z’chus for a refua shleima of my mother Rochel bas Sorah Leah.