Laser-based. system for highway pavement texture measurement

The texture of highway is one of the major factors that impact the road quality. The traditional method is to use skid truck to measure skid number, but in the course of the measurement its speed is limited and frequent traffic slow down is inevitable. This paper presented a highway pavement texture detection system using position-sensitive device (PSD) with a laser transmitter. As one of non-destructive test tools, the laser texture sensor that can run at 178khz allows high-speed measurement, and is very sensitive to macro and micro texture. In order to reduce the influences from surrounding area we have designed a PID compensation circuit to help improving accuracy of the system. The outcomes of several prototype pavement texture devices have proved the measurement system's feasible and effective. A measurement system with high speed, high accuracy and low-cost is obtained.