PAVEMENT CRACK MONITORING AT TRAFFIC SPEED

This paper describes the development and operation of a practical system for the collection of images of the road pavement surface at traffic speed and the automatic identification of cracks appearing in those images. In view of the large number of images collected and the need for reliable and consistent results, automatic analysis is required. A process, based on a combination of on-board real time and off-line image processing, has therefore been devised which identifies cracks at speeds close to real time. Such automatic analysis depends on obtaining images of high quality and uniform brightness and this is achieved using novel line scan cameras and controlled artificial illumination. Surveys can thus proceed during either day or night. Purpose built hardware assembles the line images into video frames prior to processing. The correct application of the information provided by the system depends on accurate knowledge of crack location. In the UK location referencing is currently provided by accurately measuring the distance travelled with respect to automatically recognised studs on the road surface and laser-read bar codes beside the road. Improved methods using buried radio tags and GPS are now being investigated. Location referencing information based on these methods is automaticailly stored in the hidden lines of each video frame collected by the cameras. Such a crack monitoring system provides enormous benefits by reducing considerably the need for hazardous and relatively expensive slow speed video condition surveys as well as eliminating the inconsistency and subjectivity of manual interpretation. (A) For the covering abstract see IRRD E100847.

• Corporate Authors:

  INTERVIA

  ZVONKOVA 9
  PRAGUE 10,   Czech Republic  106 00
• Authors:
  • FERNE, B W
  • Hawker, L G
  • PYNN, J
• Publication Date: 1998

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 55-62
• Serial:
  • ROADSURF '98. FIRST CZECH SYMPOSIUM ON ROAD AND AIRFIELD SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS. 2 JUNE 1998, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC. PROCEEDINGS
  • Publisher: INTERVIA

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cracking; Measuring instruments; Smoothness; Surfaces; Surveillance; Video cameras
• ITRD Terms: 6155: Apparatus (measuring); 6750: Camera; 5211: Cracking; 3071: Evenness; 6438: Surface; 9101: Surveillance
• Subject Areas: Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00765617
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Transport Research Laboratory
• Files: ITRD
• Created Date: Jul 1 1999 12:00AM