Characterization of Unpaved Road Condition Through the Use of Remote Sensing Project – Phase II, Deliverable 8-D: Final Report

Building on the success of developing a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) based unpaved road assessment system in Phase I, the project team was awarded a Phase II project by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to focus on outreach and implementation. As part of the new focus, the original Phase I name for the system, URCAS (Unpaved Roads Condition Assessment System), was changed to AURA (Aerial Unpaved Road Assessment). The first objective of the project team was to review and update the requirements, sensors and platforms. Since it had been over three years between defining these parameters and the start of Phase II, the project team needed to re-evaluate the AURA system as technology is quickly advancing. The use of fixed-wing UAVs as an alternative to using multi-rotor systems was also investigated. A major component of Phase II was two field demonstrations, building from a well-received technical demo in Phase I held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The first technical demonstration in Phase II was in Salina, Kansas on June 10, 2015 at the University of Kansas-Salina and the second demonstration was held in Rapid City, SD on October 20, 2015 as part of the 30th Regional Local Roads Conference hosted by the North Dakota Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). These were focused on bringing together local transportation officials and companies to demonstrate the AURA system developed by the project team as well as demonstrate the usefulness of UAVs for asset management. This report includes a summary of the field demonstrations, an update on applying the unpaved roads inventory algorithm, improvements made to the processing software, and the results of outreach and commercialization discussions.

• 
• Record URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/32118
• Corporate Authors:

  Michigan Technological University, Ann Arbor

  Michigan Tech Research Institute, 3600 Green Court
  Ann Arbor, MI  United States  48105

  Michigan Technological University, Houghton

  Center for Technology & Training
  309 Dillman Hall, 1400 Townsend Drive
  Houghton, MI  United States  49931-1295

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  Washington DC,   United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Brooks, Colin
  • Dobson, Richard
  • Banach, David
  • Roussi, Chris
  • Colling, Tim
  • Lefler, Valerie
  • Hart, Ben
  • Garbarino, Joe
  • Lawrence, Aaron
  • White, Brian
  • Aden, Sam
• Publication Date: 2016-10-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Maps; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 67p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Algorithms; Asset management; Data collection; Demonstration projects; Drones; Implementation; Marketing; Outreach; Remote sensing; Software; Unpaved roads
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Data and Information Technology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01641405
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: RITARS-11-H-MTU1
• Files: NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: Jul 24 2017 9:53AM