scholarly journals Monitoring of Carriageway Cross Section Profiles on Forest Roads: Assessment of an Ultrasound Data Based Road Scanner with TLS Data Reference

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1191
Author(s):  
Michael Starke ◽  
Anton Kunneke ◽  
Martin Ziesak

Forest roads are an important element in forest management as they provide infrastructure for different forest stakeholder groups. Over time, a variety of road assessment concepts for better planning were initiated. The monitoring of the surface cross-section profile of forest roads particularly offers the possibility to take early action in restoring a road segment and avoiding higher future costs. One vehicle-based monitoring system that relies on ultrasound sensors addresses this topic. With advantages in its dirt influence tolerance and high temporal resolution, but shortcomings in horizontal and vertical measuring accuracy, the system was tested against high resolution terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) data to find and assess working scenarios that fit the low- resolution measuring principle. In a related field test, we found low correct road geometry interpretation rates of 54.3% but rising to 91.2% under distinctive geometric properties. The further applied line- and segment-based method used to transform the TLS data to fit the road scanner measuring method allows the transfer of the road scanner evaluation principle to point-cloud or raster data of different origins.

Author(s):  
Thierry Brenac

This paper deals with safety at horizontal curves on two-lane roads outside urban areas and the way the road design standards of different European countries account for this safety aspect. After a review of some research results, the main aspects of curve geometry and the curve's place in the horizontal alignment are analyzed. The main conclusions are that the traditional design speed approach is insufficient and that formal complementary rules in road design standards, especially to improve compatibility between successive elements of the alignment, must be introduced. If such complementary rules already exist in some national standards, they are neither frequent nor homogeneous throughout the different countries, and it seems that they are not based on sufficiently developed knowledge.


2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katalin Waga ◽  
Piotr Tompalski ◽  
Nicholas C Coops ◽  
Joanne C White ◽  
Michael A Wulder ◽  
...  

Abstract Forest roads allow access for silvicultural operations, harvesting, recreational activities, wildlife management, and fire suppression. In British Columbia, Canada, roads that are no longer required must be deactivated (temporarily, semipermanently, or permanently) in order to minimize the impact on the overall forested ecosystem. However, the remoteness and size of the road network present challenges for monitoring. Our aim was to examine the utility of airborne laser scanning data to assess the status and quality of forest roads across 52,000 hectares of coastal forest in British Columbia. Within the forest estate, roads can be active or deactivated, or have an unknown status. We classified road segments based on the vegetation growth on the road surface, and edges, by classifying the height distribution of airborne laser scanning returns within each road segment into four groups: no vegetation, minor vegetation, dense understory vegetation, and dense overstory vegetation. Validation indicated that 73 percent of roads were classified correctly when compared to independent field observations. The majority were classified as active roads with no vegetation or deactivated with dense vegetation. The approach presented herein can aid forest managers in verifying the status of the roads in their management area, especially in remote areas where field assessments are costly and time-consuming.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 690-704
Author(s):  
Lichun Sui ◽  
Jianfeng Zhu ◽  
Mianqing Zhong ◽  
Xue Wang ◽  
Junmei Kang

Abstract Various means of extracting road boundary from mobile laser scanning data based on vehicle trajectories have been investigated. Independent of positioning and navigation data, this study estimated the scanner ground track from the spatial distribution of the point cloud as an indicator of road location. We defined a typical edge block consisting of multiple continuous upward fluctuating points by abrupt changes in elevation, upward slope, and road horizontal slope. Subsequently, such edge blocks were searched for on both sides of the estimated track. A pseudo-mileage spacing map was constructed to reflect the variation in spacing between the track and edge blocks over distance, within which road boundary points were detected using a simple linear tracking model. Experimental results demonstrate that the ground trajectory of the extracted scanner forms a smooth and continuous string just on the road; this can serve as the basis for defining edge block and road boundary tracking algorithms. The defined edge block has been experimentally verified as highly accurate and strongly noise resistant, while the boundary tracking algorithm is simple, fast, and independent of the road boundary model used. The correct detection rate of the road boundary in two experimental data is more than 99.2%.


Transport ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 853-860
Author(s):  
Nicola BONGIORNO ◽  
Gaetano BOSURGI ◽  
Orazio PELLEGRINO ◽  
Giuseppe SOLLAZZO

This paper analyses the driver’ visual behaviour in the different conditions of ‘isolated vehicle’ and ‘disturbed vehicle’. If the meaning of the former is clear, the latter condition considers the influence on the driving behaviour of various objects that could be encountered along the road. These can be classified in static (signage, stationary vehicles at the roadside, etc.) and dynamic objects (cars, motorcycles, bicycles). The aim of this paper is to propose a proper analysis regarding the driver’s visual behaviour. In particular, the authors examined the quality of the visually informa-tion acquired from the entire road environment, useful for detecting any critical safety condition. In order to guaran-tee a deep examination of the various possible behaviours, the authors combined the several test outcomes with other variables related to the road geometry and with the dynamic variables involved while driving. The results of this study are very interesting. As expected, they obviously confirmed better performances for the ‘isolated vehicle’ in a rural two-lane road with different traffic flows. Moreover, analysing the various scenarios in the disturbed condition, the proposed indices allow the authors to quantitatively describe the different influence on the visual field and effects on the visual behaviour, favouring critical analysis of the road characteristics. Potential applications of these results may contribute to improve the choice of the best maintenance strategies for a road, to select the optimal signage location, to define forecasting models for the driving behaviour and to develop useful instruments for intelligent transportation systems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Bezuglyi ◽  
N. V. Bezuglaya ◽  
S. Kostuk

The correct accounting of laser emitter parameters for improvement of diagnostic authenticity of methods of optical biomedical diagnostic is important problem for applied biophotonic tasks. The purpose of the current research is estimation of influence of energy distribution profile in transversal section of laser beam on light scattering by human skin layers at photometry by ellipsoidal reflectors.Biomedical photometer with ellipsoidal reflectors for investigation of biological tissue specimens in transmitted and reflected light uses laser probing radiation with infinitely thin, Gauss-type and uniform cross-section profile. Distribution of beams with denoted profiles, which consist of 20 million photons with wavelength 632.8 nm, was modeled by using of Monte-Carlo simulation in human skin layers (corneous layer, epidermis, derma and adipose tissue) of various anatomic thickness and with ellipsoidal reflectors with focal parameter equal to 16.875 mm and eccentricity of 0.66.The modeling results represent that illuminance distribution in zones of photometric imaging is significantly influenced by the laser beam cross-section profile for various thickness of corneous layer and epidermis in transmitted and reflected light, and also derma in reflected light. Illuminance distribution for adipose tissue in reflected and transmitted light, and also derma in transmitted light, practically do not depend of laser beam profile for anatomic thicknesses, which are appropriate for human skin on various sections of body.There are represented results of modified Monte-Carlo simulation method for biomedical photometer with ellipsoidal reflectors during biometry of human skin layers. For highly scattered corneous layer and epidermis the illumination of middle and external rings of photometric images changes depending from the laser beam profile for more than 50 % in transmitted and 30 % in reflected light. For weakly scattering skin layers (derma and adipose layer) the influence of profile can be observed only for derma in reflected layer and is equal not more than 15 %. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 595-603
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Lemonakis ◽  
George Botzoris ◽  
Athanasios Galanis ◽  
Nikolaos Eliou

The development of operating speed models has been the subject of numerous research studies in the past. Most of them present models that aim to predict free-flow speed in conjunction with the road geometry at the curved road sections considering various geometric parameters e.g., radius, length, preceding tangent, deflection angle. The developed models seldomly take into account the operating speed profiles of motorcycle riders and hence no significant efforts have been put so far to associate the geometric characteristics of a road segment with the speed behavior of motorcycle riders. The dominance of 4-wheel vehicles on the road network led the researchers to focus explicitly on the development of speed prediction models for passenger cars, vans, pickups, and trucks. However, although the motorcycle fleet represents only a small proportion of the total traffic volume motorcycle riders are over-represented in traffic accidents especially those that occur on horizontal curves. Since operating speed has been thoroughly documented as the most significant precipitating factor of vehicular accidents, the study of motorcycle rider's speed behavior approaching horizontal curves is of paramount importance. The subject of the present paper is the development of speed prediction models for motorcycle riders traveling on two-lane rural roads. The model was the result of the execution of field measurements under naturalistic conditions with the use of an instrumented motorcycle conducted by experienced motorcycle riders under different lighting conditions. The implemented methodology to determine the most efficient model evaluates a series of road geometry parameters through a comprehensive literature review excluding those with an insignificant impact to the magnitude of the operating speeds in order to establish simple and handy models.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-359
Author(s):  
Dario Babić ◽  
Anđelko Ščukanec ◽  
Darko Babić ◽  
Mario Fiolić

Road markings provide drivers with the information necessary for their comfortable and safe journey. To achieve that, they must be visible in all driving conditions, which means that they have to be renewed and maintained in a timely manner. This research aims to develop a model for predicting the service life of paint, thermoplastic and agglomerate cold plastic road markings. The research comprised 5218.00 km (115 roads) of solvent-borne paint road markings, 579.00 km (30 roads) of thermoplastic and 4979.00 km (30 roads) of agglomerate cold plastic road markings. The retroreflectivity of road markings was measured two times (after renewal and after winter) using the dynamic measuring method. Service life prediction model was developed for each material based on factors such as initial retroreflectivity, road marking age and position, annual average daily traffic and winter maintenance activity of the road. Developed models were tested using a new data set, and all three models showed satisfactory accuracy. The application of the model enables road authorities to optimise road-marking maintenance activities, while at the same time, ensuring the level of visibility required by drivers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 00067
Author(s):  
Dieter Ackermann ◽  
Lorenzo Corradi

2020 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 06008
Author(s):  
Prashant Awsarmal ◽  
S. L. Hake ◽  
Shubham Vaidya ◽  
P. K. Bhandari ◽  
M. P. Wagh

Efficient road network is a part-n-parcel of rapid industralization, urbanization and development of nation. While designing roads and highways, main emphasis is given on speed which will help to reduce time of journey and save fuel. But safety of drivers and passengers travelling along road is also important. In past, it was observed that while travelling, due to excess speed passengers safety was compromised. It will lead to accidents. It may cause severe injuries and loss of human life. Therefore it is important to check every aspect of vehicles as well as road during its design, construction and throughout the life of the road. Road safety audit is conducted to check performance of new road projects on grounds of offering maximum safety. Also checks are applied to study performance of existing roads to suggest repairs, rehabiliatation and maintenance work in order to improve condition of roads. During audit process, accident prone locations are identified. Past accident record from traffic department, Police department, hospitals etc are referred to understand damage that had occured. Even road geometry is investigated on technical basis. In present investigation, particular stretch of Beed Bypass Road passing through Aurangabad city in Maharashtra state, India was selected. On this road, accident sites where major accidents occurred in past were identified and investigated for different parameters. Based upon study, different causes of accidents and thereafter preventive methods were recommended during research work.


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