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I just don't see that getting the job done at 30 below on patch ice and in deep snow. Mud remains a possibility, with golf-ball sized and larger irregular rocks. The device would have to be capable of anticipating the need to deploy beforehand. Lose traction in some places, and you will very likely wreck the truck.

Most of the roads leading in and out of oil drilling/production locations in these parts are surfaced with crushed natural brick, locally called "scoria". Essentially, this material makes for some of the finest gravel roads I have driven, but it's still a gravel road, and the heavier the vehicle, the more likely it (the road surface) will be damaged.

Between cold, foreign objects, and the variety of road surfaces, whoever designs a self-deploying system to maintain traction will have their work cut out for them. Reliability will be an issue, and by the time a vehicle is in trouble, it will be many miles from the nearest town.