TRL launches cost-effective road monitoring device

At Highways UK, TRL is presenting its cost-effective, easy to use, road condition monitoring device to enable highways maintenance organisations to not only monitor the condition of their road network, but to plan ahead by prioritising those roads that require urgent maintenance. Designed as a low-risk, cost-effective and efficient alternative to the current annual high-resolution surveys, TRL’s new device will be presented for the first time at this year’s Highways UK.

TRL’s new micro condition monitoring device is a small box that can be attached to any vehicle for the purpose of recording the condition of roads as the vehicle drives along. Incorporating a high-resolution digital video camera for capturing images alongside accelerometers and gyros to record the state of the road, the data is transmitted into the cloud for analysis. Requiring no driver input once installed thanks to its automatic switch on when the vehicle is started, the live data can be easily analysed, with issues reported on a daily dashboard, enabling quick and efficient decisions to be made on what roads require maintenance urgently. The high-resolution video feed means that no physical inspection is required immediately, saving time and cost in deciding on the need for intervention.

“At TRL, we are continually developing innovations that will have a positive impact on the future of transport,” explains Dr Alex Wright, Chief Technologist from TRL. “With this new road monitoring device, we have designed a cost-effective solution to the need for immediate asset condition information which can be evaluated with minimum training. Not only can it be easily installed in any vehicle, making use of existing fleets of vehicles which regularly cover the network, it also provides on the minute road condition data that can be quickly and easily analysed for use in planning which roads need working on in the short, medium and long-term.”