Road roughness measurement using a cost-effective sensor-based monitoring system

Data collection of the pavement condition is the main core of the pavement management systems. The automated data collection method has some advantages over the traditional one such as safety, consistency, speed, and repeatability. However, one of the main disadvantages of the automated data collection is the high cost of required devices. It is necessary to present an innovative cost-effective automated data collection system with adequate accuracy and precision. Pavement roughness is one of the most important parameters showing the pavement condition and directly affecting the ride quality. The main aim of this research is to develop a new automated cost-effective data collection device for measuring roughness. An extra wheel equipped with accelerometers and a geographical positioning system are utilized for evaluating pavement roughness. Longitudinal profiles are employed to calculate the International Roughness Index through the application of a linear model with a high coefficient of determination of 0.87. The root-mean-square error and the average error percentage are sufficiently low, equal 10% and 20%, respectively.