Automatic crack detection results using a novel device for survey and analysis of road pavement condition

To accurately schedule maintenance operations, it is crucial to monitor the pavement state and, thus, evaluate the structural and functional indices during its entire service life. In particular, surface conditions (cracks, potholes, patches, rutting, etc.) must be properly checked – especially in terms of detection, identification, and classification of distresses – for avoiding reaching dangerous values for users (overpassing safety thresholds). However, monitoring and survey activities can be so costly (not only in economic terms, but further considering the execution time) to discourage their execution, with evident drawbacks for a proper maintenance management and the related intervention strategies. In view of the above, a novel device for real-time and continuous survey of road pavement surface distresses was developed in the Infrastructure Lab of the University of Messina. Using the potential of laser lighting systems and 3D cameras for optical triangulation, this device can acquire 3D images of the road surfaces, limiting the disturbance on vehicular traffic and speeding up condition survey operations. In this paper, the authors present some survey tests and the related outcomes of this novel device, evidencing the applications of specific algorithms for distress detection and quantification.