Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

This project aims to design and develop a prototype vehicle-towed road surface surveying and condition*monitoring system. Municipalities around the world spend millions of dollars to maintain and repair their*roadways. Despite this investment, poor road conditions are still a huge issue that causes damage to vehicles and*harm to drivers and pedestrians. Maintaining road conditions is a challenge due to harsh weather, unexpected*traffic load, and normal wear and tear factors that degrade even well-laid roads over relatively short periods of*time.*There have been many academic research projects performed on the subject of road surface mapping with the*intention of identifying road surface conditions, as well as recognizing potholes. Most studies rely on mounting a*variety equipment/sensory techniques on a fleet of vehicles so that as a vehicle is driven over any road, an*identification system can detect pothole specifications and location. The main goal now is to increase the accuracy*and reduce or eliminate false detections while the vehicle maintains a relatively high speed.*Through this proposal, industry partner Sorsys Technologies Inc. seeks to address this problem by engaging the*faculty and student expertise in Sheridan College's Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Design Technologies*(CAMDT) in Brampton, Ontario. Specifically, this applied research project will harness the talent of a dedicated*team at Sheridan to develop a novel system that involves the design and fabrication of a prototype for a pothole*detection system through consultation and technical support from the team at Sorsys.