Offset-Based Object Location for Pavement Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pavement modification and assessment technologies face challenges in accurately aligning mobile platforms with pavement surfaces and objects of interest, particularly in determining the precise location of pavement segments for effective marking, assessment, and modification, which affects the efficiency and accuracy of pavement maintenance processes.
Innovation Solution
The use of a vehicle-mounted apparatus equipped with position sensors, image sensors, and a data collection system that calculates the location of pavement segments using GNSS, RTK, and inertial navigation systems, allowing for precise alignment and adjustment of mobile platforms for marking, assessment, and modification tasks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If mobile platforms are used for pavement assessment and modification, then productivity is improved, but alignment precision with pavement surfaces deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary alignment system consisting of alignment markers placed on the pavement surface and corresponding sensors on the mobile platform. This intermediary mechanism mediates between the mobile platform's movement and the pavement surface, enabling precise alignment without requiring direct complex sensing between the moving platform and the static pavement features.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy or representation of the pavement surface features and alignment markers through imaging sensors. This digital model is then used to guide and adjust the mobile platform's position, allowing precise alignment to be achieved through computational methods rather than direct mechanical alignment.
2Measurement precision
If complex sensor systems are deployed for precise location determination, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the location determination task into multiple independent components: GNSS provides coarse global positioning, RTK provides relative positioning corrections, inertial sensors provide motion data, and camera systems provide visual confirmation. Each component operates independently and contributes partial information that is integrated to achieve high precision without requiring any single complex system.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile platform is designed with multi-functional sensors that serve multiple purposes. For example, the camera system not only captures images for alignment but also documents pavement conditions, while the inertial measurement unit provides both navigation data and vibration analysis. This multi-functionality reduces overall system complexity by eliminating dedicated specialized sensors for each function.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for locating an object of interest using offset. The object may be a mobile platform, or portion of same, associated with a vehicle, or a pavement segment or feature of or on a pavement segment on which the mobile platform is located. The vehicle includes first and second fixed points having a known offset from each other. An image sensor whose field of view includes the second fixed point and a segment of the pavement surface provides image data which is used with the known offset to calculate the precise location of the object of interest.