Using cellphones to measures road defects

A novel system is now available that allows a smartphone to be used to measure road defects. Developed by Grimmer Software, the RoadBump Android application can be used to measure the roughness of a road. This tool can provide estimates of International Roughness Index (IRI) in metric or standard units, without requiring high-cost laser profilers.
August 19, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A novel system is now available that allows a smartphone to be used to measure road defects. Developed by Grimmer Software, the RoadBump Android application can be used to measure the roughness of a road.

This tool can provide estimates of International Roughness Index (IRI) in metric or standard units, without requiring high-cost laser profilers.

RoadBump uses an Android device's GPS and accelerometer to measure the roughness of a road. It displays a map of the road that was measured, and allows you to zoom in to measure any part of the travelled path. RoadBump produces estimated IRI and Present Serviceability Rating (PSR) graphs. An accelerometer graph shows individual bumps, dips and waves.

The firm said that this tool is easy to use. Activating the unit and driving along the road at normal speed is sufficient to gather road data. A network connection is not required. The unit can be used when travelling at speeds from 32 to 100km/h and is said to have been extensively tested to ensure its accuracy.
Maintenance

Related Content

  • Marini’s versatile asphalt plant for developing markets
    January 4, 2016
    Marini is offering a versatile new asphalt plant targeted at emerging markets – Mike Woof writes A new asphalt plant from Marini has been developed specifically for the needs of customers in developing countries. The company says that this is a high-quality asphalt plant but without the sophisticated technology required in developed markets such as Europe. The versatile BE Tower is designed to be easy to transport, install and then take apart and move to a different site when needed. The company has also
    Read More
  • Topcon to smoothen roads with SmoothRide system
    February 28, 2018
    Topcon Positioning has developed a sophisticated package that can help deliver better road surface quality. The firm’s latest SmoothRide data collection package is said to make the mapping of road conditions easier and more efficient. The new RD-M1 Collect 2.0 package has an improved interface and a new graphical interface status bar that indicates the optimum speed for collecting road information based on the project requirements.
    Read More
  • INTERMAT launch for Topcon road profiler
    January 6, 2017
    RTP-300 is Topcon’s new high-speed road surface profiling machine that can collect surface data at speeds up to 65 mph (105 km/h) and creates an exact model of the existing surface.
    Read More
  • INTERMAT launch for Topcon road profiler
    February 3, 2012
    RTP-300 is Topcon’s new high-speed road surface profiling machine that can collect surface data at speeds up to 65 mph (105 km/h) and creates an exact model of the existing surface.
    Read More

Highlighted Content