First results of a new methodology for the identification of road surface anomalies

This article presents a technique for the detection of road surfaces problems through the measurement of sound pressure levels inside the vehicle. While knowledge on the mechanisms behind the modeling of the noise produced by vehicles in the urban environment is growing, its perception by the driver remains relatively unexplored. In this study is defined a methodology, that allows to identify road bumps and potholes through sound level and simultaneous geolocation of vehicle tracks, is defined. The methodology has been applied on a test site characterized by the presence of a series of road speed bumps geometrically precisely defined. A series of experiments on the circuit test have been carried out with different sound level meter instrumentations synchronized with a GPS device. All experiments have been replicated on two different types of vehicle. All data acquired by the devices and loaded on a geographic information system have been processed for the validation of the methodology. This methodology uses a simple and widespread instrumentation and unlike other methodologies, it does not need specific instruments which must be specifically positioned in the vehicle. In fact, this methodology was applied just by using the built-in microphone of the most common world smartphones market.