PAVEMENT DISTRESS ANALYSIS USING IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

This paper demonstrates the feasibility of applying image processing techniques to the analysis of pavement distress due to cracking. Pavement image samples were obtained using a custom-designed data acquisition system called the Automatic Crack Monitor (ACM). The image samples containing pavement cracks are analyzed, and quantitative measures, called crack parameters, are extracted using techniques described in this paper. The crack parameters are necessary measures used in calculations of the Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI), which is used by highway maintenance engineers to decide whether a certain pavement section needs to be repaired. Experimental results are shown and the potential hardware implementation of the developed techniques is also discussed.