Northeastern University was recently awarded a $9 million federal research grant to develop new multi-sensor technology systems for cars and trucks that will allow for real-time assessment of road and bridge infrastructure across the country. Northeastern will lead the five-year VOTERS (Versatile Onboard Traffic Embedded Roaming Sensors) project along with a range of government, industry, and academic partners.
The need to restore and maintain urban infrastructure is identified by the National Academy of Engineering as an engineering Grand Challenge for the 21st century. The well publicized American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) 2005 Report Card gave the nation's infrastructure a grade of D, estimating that a $1.6 trillion investment was required to address basic needed repairs.
The project team will equip vehicles, such as city buses, with innovative multi-sensor technology systems that monitor surface conditions while the vehicle is in motion. The sensors will utilize acoustics and radar to monitor the roads and bridges under real driving conditions, looking for potholes and cracks in the concrete and other abnormalities that require repair. Computers installed in the vehicles will control the sensors and a GPS system will pinpoint the collected data to very precise locations. Constant streams of data will be processed and reported back to base stations using a cellular phone system, which will then be analyzed so that timely repairs can be made in vulnerable areas.
