Assessment of Presence Conditions of Pavement Markings with Image Processing

• Published in: Transportation research record Vol. 2272; no. 1; pp. 94 - 102
• Main Authors: Zhang, Yunlong, Ge, Hancheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2012
• Subjects: Assessments; Decks; Image processing; Pavements; Segments; Transportation
• ISSN: 0361-1981; 2169-4052
• DOI: 10.3141/2272-11

This paper presents a systematic approach that can automatically determine the presence conditions of pavement markings from marking images developed with digital image processing techniques. These techniques are used to correct geometric deformity, detect colors of pavement markings, segment images, enhance images, detect edge lines of pavement markings, and recognize the features of pavement markings appearing in the photographs. The performance of this system was investigated with the photograph data sets provided by the National Transportation Product Evaluation Program Mississippi test deck. The empirical results (when compared with those from the manual method and expert observations) show that this method produced accurate and reliable results. The techniques in this study can be used to develop an automated system for accurate and speedy assessments of pavement marking conditions and might help agencies make a better decision in the maintenance of pavement markings.