TY  - JOUR
T1  - Predicting Snow Height in Ski Resorts using an Agent-based Simulation
A1  - Revilloud, Marc
A1  - Loubier, Jean Christophe
A1  - Doctor, Marut
A1  - Kanevski, Mikhail
A1  - Timonin, Vadim
A1  - Schumacher, Michael
JA  - Multiagent and Grid Systems (MAGS)
Y1  - 2013
VL  - 9
IS  - 4
SP  - 279
EP  - 299
UR  - http://iospress.metapress.com/content/n10666388hk25543/
M2  - doi: 10.3233/MGS-130209
KW  - artificial snow optimization
KW  - Multiagent simulation
N2  - This paper presents the Juste-Neige system for predicting the snow height on the ski runs of a resort using an agent-based simulation software. The aim of Juste-Neige is to facilitate snow cover management in order to i) reduce the production cost of artificial snow and to improve the profit margin for the companies managing the ski resorts; and ii) to reduce the water and energy consumption, and thus to reduce the environmental impact, by producing only the snow needed for a good skiing experience. The software provides maps with the predicted snow heights for the predicted days. On these maps, the areas most exposed to snow erosion are highlighted. The software proceeds in three steps: i) interpolation of snow height measurements with a neural network; ii) local meteorological forecasts for every ski resort; iii) simulation of the impact caused by skiers using a multi-agent system. The software has been evaluated in the ski resort of Verbier in Switzerland and provides predictions that are useful for the management of the ski runs. This paper presents the software in general and the agent-based simulation in particular.
ER  -