Novel pavement crack detection sensor using coordinated mobile robots

This paper proposes a novel pavement crack detection sensor using coordinated mobile robots. The comfort of drivers and the economic efficiency are negatively affected by pavement deterioration due to weather and constant vehicle use. Our proposed system consists of a drone and an unmanned ground robot that checks the quality of roads and shows where cracks and other problems are by measuring and reporting all kinds of irregularities in road surfaces in an autonomous manner. The design of our system is a one-of-a-kind dual-cart unmanned ground vehicle, with its first cart being a drone-mounting body. The drone is equipped with a high-resolution camera for the inspection of roads, cracks, and anomalies remotely using image processing and artificial intelligence. In the event that a crack is identified, a signal is sent to the robot, instructing it to carry out a more comprehensive crack inspection. This inspection involves the use of close-range laser depth and thermal cameras to generate the pavement cracks’ depth maps accurately. We incorporate a drone into our proposed coordinated mobile robots system to enable cheaper operations and provide aerial coverage, preventing traffic congestion. Our novel pavement crack detection sensor can be incorporated with governmental agencies such as the Ministry of Transportation, the Municipality, and Civil Defence entities. Pavement and road health surveys can be completed in over fifty percent less time using our coordinated mobile robots system. • Drone-ground robot for autonomous pavement crack detection using aerial views. • High-res imaging, laser depth, and thermal cameras for precise crack mapping. • Reduces inspection time by over 50%, improving efficiency for transportation.