Developing an Experimental Setup for Real-Time Road Surface Identification Using Intelligent Tires

Road surface characteristics directly influence vehicle safety and performance, and its knowledge can be instrumental to road transportation system safety. This work focuses on the development of a test setup, which was utilized for real-time implementation of a road surface identification algorithm based on the acceleration response of an intelligent tire. Analysis of frequency domain data was used to leverage the tire-road contact information being relayed through the acceleration data. A signal processing algorithm was developed to separate each tire revolution, analyze it in real-time, and convert it to the frequency domain in real-time. In the end, the performance of the setup was validated with results from the literature, and the distinguishing signature possessed by each surface was used to categorize different terrains into the respective surface categories (Dry Asphalt, Wet Asphalt, Concrete) in real-time.