Development of a laboratory model for automated road defect detection

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.