Abstract
This paper describes the field evaluation of a smartphone-based winter road surface condition (RSC) monitoring system. The system was deployed on eight maintenance and patrol vehicles and tested during the winter of 2013–2014 on a section of Highway 6 in Ontario, Canada. The study focused on data obtained from four of the vehicles. This paper details the evaluation of the system from three perspectives: spot-wise monitoring, route-level monitoring, and system reliability. The study compared the system's RSC monitoring results with manual classifications, patrol records, and the Traveller's Road Information Portal, a public-facing website. The system's consistency with current RSC monitoring methods was assessed, and it was found that the smartphone-based system was capable of providing reliable results in comparison with the current method of patrol reporting for route-level monitoring of winter road conditions. Key performance factors were investigated, and the paper presents recommendations for system improvement.
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