Vehicle-Mounted Technology Used to Assess Essex County Roads

A Honda Fit equipped with cameras that record 3D images and a computer that compiles them is helping the County of Essex assess the state of its roads.

The little white car, with a 360-degree camera perched on its roof and two pairs of cameras mounted behind the rear bumper, has travelled 900 kilometres of county roads in both directions. As StreetScan data collector and driver Alan Rowlandson navigated county roads over the course of two weeks in May, the cameras recorded images of the pavement that were later uploaded to a server and will be analyzed using artificial intelligence.

The County of Essex will use the StreetScan technology and scientific data to measure pavement conditions and compare them with historical data obtained by visual observation through windshield surveys, said Peter Bziuk, Manager of Design and Construction Services.

“Now that the scan is complete, we’ll probably obtain the data sometime around August or September,” he said. “Then we’ll be able to take that data file and compare it to what we’ve been doing every year based on a windshield survey. At that point, we’ll have an idea whether we’re right on. Is the visual survey as good as the technology?”

County staff who assess the condition of the roads receive training and follow guidelines. It is difficult to tell if the results are consistent over time, Bziuk said. The results of the StreetScan survey, for which the county is paying $180,000, provide a scientific way to audit the visual road assessments.

StreetScan uses a numbered scale to indicate the condition of the pavement, with zero being the worst and 100 the best. After it processes the data, it is uploaded to the county’s Streetlogix portal where it can be reviewed by Infrastructure Services staff.

A good annual assessment of road conditions is important for setting the right priorities for rehabilitation and construction, Bziuk said. That’s why the StreetScan car drove every county road.

The company, which is based in Massachusetts and evolved from a 2009 research project, uses its technology to assess the state of roads and sidewalks. It’s the first time Essex County has used StreetScan, but not the first time one of its vehicles has roamed local roads collecting data. The municipalities of Essex, Kingsville, Lakeshore, LaSalle and Tecumseh have all employed StreetScan and are among its more than 100 Canadian clients.

The 3D cameras mounted on top of its vehicles can capture a 2.4-metre wide stretch of road for its entire length at speeds up to 72 km/h. The 360-degree camera takes pictures of the road surface and right-of-way. The system uses GPS and an inertial measurement unit enabled global navigation satellite system.

Rowlandson, who is in his second year working for StreetScan, said he drives the routes guided by the navigation system and gets further instructions from a computer on the back seat that is connected to the cameras. If the computer – nicknamed The Boss – isn’t happy with the data, Rowlandson must drive the route again.

Other drivers and pedestrians often wave like they’re being photographed, unaware that all the StreetScan vehicle’s cameras are aimed at the pavement, he said.

“People think I’m the Google car, so I get people all day long waving, pointing, smiling, dancing, just acting up because they think they’re going to end up on the internet somewhere. I don’t spoil their party. I just wave and carry on.”