AvalRS aims at demonstrating that such a service is possible and that it will provide decision support during avalanche imposed road closures, and to help validate the issued avalanche forecasts. Overview over the affected problem area, specifically the length of the avalanche-affected road section and the volume of snow on the road, are essential for the authorities during road closures.

The AvalRS project is a joint project between the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (prime contractor), the Norwegian Computing Center (subcontractor), and the Norwegian Public Roads Authority (user). NR is responsible for developing software algorithms for automatic detection of avalanches in high resolution remote sensing images. The project is funded by ESA Data User Element.