A new project by The Texas A&M Transportation Institute could soon make Texas Department of Transportation road evaluations more consistent, efficient and effective using technology similar to what is being developed for autonomous vehicles.

The project is among a number of innovative studies being overseen by TxDOT's Office of Research and Technology Implementation.

Paul Carlson, head of TTI's Traffic Operations and Roadway Safety Division, said the monitoring system would replace the agency's current method of evaluating roads by eye -- a practice he said often lends itself to subjectivity and inconsistency.

"The idea is to add low-cost sensors to TxDOT vehicles so that they essentially act like robotic eyes, looking at the infrastructure, providing infrastructure information and condition assessment information," Carlson said. "[Right now] TxDOT employees have to drive their roadways twice per year doing windshield inspections, driving down the road and judging what needs to be rehabilitated and what needs to be maintained. ... This provides a much more objective way for that to be done with consistency across the board."

TxDOT RTI project manager Chris Glancy said while the technology is still in the testing phase, it already is garnering attention from department employees across the state.

"Every time I show district personnel the project, they want to implement it locally," Glancy said in a statement. "This is an example of what we expect to be many future innovative opportunities to utilize new vehicle technologies to improve safety and efficiency of many of the field operations that the department must undertake to effectively maintain our transportation system."

Carlson said the technology is now in the field for testing to measure accuracy and the cost-benefit of the system. He said four fleet vehicles of TxDOT's Bryan District already have been equipped with the system, and 26 are scheduled for installation across the state by the end of the year.

Should the system prove successful, Carlson said the technology could provide transportation officials with a more timely and cost-efficient way to get the most out of the "limited dollars" in maintenance funding they receive each year.

Carlson said the "unobtrusive" technology is designed to cost less than $1,000 per vehicle.

In addition to its potential cost-saving benefits, Carlson said the monitoring system is automatic and connected to a cloud service in which data is collected and analytics are compiled.

"The idea is that we provide the TxDOT personnel with no additional duties," Carlson said. "[The drivers] just go do their normal work."

He said the information then would be available to officials in the form of a "near-real-time map" of road conditions.

Carlson said in addition to its potential use in TxDOT vehicles across the state, the technology could also be commercialized and marketed to other state transportation agencies as well.

Link:

TTI project using technology to improve road-evaluation process - Bryan-College Station Eagle