Response Type Road Roughness Measuring System from a Vehicle Mounted Android Smartphone

Roughness of road surface is regarded as one of the most important factors in the functional state of roads, indicating riding comfort in both transverse and longitudinal directions. The government of India has made maintaining good surface evenness a necessary criterion for all highway developments. Pavement unevenness was calculated in this study by using an android-based smartphone and system that relies on the movement of a suspension system in response to the unevenness of the road surface traveled by a vehicle. The Roughness Index (RI) is a measuring indicator used to assess the standard roughness of a road. The traditional method of measuring RI requires the use of a bump integrator, profilometer, and roughometer. The current work suggests an alternate way for measuring roughness using phones. To determine the degree of deflections, the investigation was conducted in two distinct places and by using three different phones. Data acquired through smartphone, i.e., accelerometer sensor information, was fed into Fast Fourier transforms (FFT) to determine the extent of road deflection. The results from phones were then correlated with existing roughness index data gathered by a fifth wheel bump integrator to develop an equation to predict RI using an Android mobile.