Contribution
The Torus-measurement system - Opportunities for acoustic and structural monitoring of road surface quality
* Presenting author
Abstract:
The novel Torus-measurement system can provide comprehensive information about acoustically relevant properties of road surfaces. Here, a microphone mounted inside the rim is used to calculate the sound pressure level as well as a high-resolution spectrum. These and other parameters are used to analyse the vibrations that are depending on the road surface texture. This results in an “acoustic fingerprint” to characterize different road surfaces, or to detect defects in the road. Using additional metadata such as the GPS position or the vehicle speed, a geo-referenced visualisation of the structural and acoustic condition of the road network is generated.The Torus-system can be used in small vehicle fleets to cover a large area outside as well as inside urban areas. The measurement is passively running during the normal use of the vehicle and does not require any attendance of the driver. The recorded data is automatically stored on a cloud server such that information about specific road segments can be accessed on demand. The continuous monitoring of recurring road sections can shed light on changes of road surfaces over time. Such information will be valuable for asset management and maintenance of noise-reducing road surfaces, or road surfaces in general.