Development of a Laboratory Model for Automated Road Defect Detection

Abstract

Potholes and bumps are responsible for a large number of accidents on roads, leading to the loss of lives and properties. Developing proactive and early detection measures will be an effective approach for reducing accidents, and a source of information for timely road maintenance. Consequently, a laboratory model of a road defect detection system is proposed using a combination of an Ultrasonic sensor, a Global Positioning System (GPS) and an alert system. The methodology used involved computing the best placement for the ultrasonic sensor, and developing an algorithm for detecting the presence/absence of bumps or potholes using the time taken to receive reflected pulse signals. This laboratory model is also capable of logging road profile information to a database where vehicle users and road maintenance agencies can access for planning route movement and prioritising road repairs.