Feasibility of road vibrations-based vehicle property sensing

This article discusses a novel approach to vehicle property sensing based on traffic-induced road surface vibrations and investigates the feasibility of this approach. Road surface vibrations from real-life experiments are acquired using three-axis accelerometers and the data are analysed. Based on the assessment of the data, a first coarse scheme for axle detection of passing vehicles is developed. The scheme is then evaluated using measurement data from a highway with moderate traffic intensity but diverse traffic. It is found that the proposed approach is feasible and the estimation scheme yields promising results. Furthermore, delimitations, encountered problems and identified research challenges are discussed and future research directions are given.