Abstract
PURPOSES : This study evaluates the reliability of the patterns of changes in the road surface temperature during winter using a statistical technique. In addition, a flexible road segmentation method is developed based on the collected road surface temperature data. METHODS : To collect and analyze the data, a thermal mapping system that could be attached to a survey vehicle along with various other sensors was employed. We first selected the test route based on the date and the weather and topographical conditions, since these factors affect the patterns of changes in the road surface temperature. Each route was surveyed a total of 10 times on a round-trip basis at the same times (5 AM to 6 AM). A correlation analysis was performed to identify whether the weather conditions reported for the survey dates were consistent with the actual conditions. In addition, we developed a method for dividing the road into sections based on the consecutive changes in the road surface temperature for use in future applications. Specifically, in this method, the road surface temperature data collected using the thermal mapping system was compared continuously with the average values for the various road sections, and the road was divided into sections based on the temperature. RESULTS : The results showed that the comparison of the reported and actual weather conditions and the standard deviation in the observed road surface temperatures could produce a good indicator of the reliability of the patterns of the changes in the road surface temperature. CONCLUSIONS : This research shows how road surface temperature data can be evaluated using a statistical technique. It also confirms that roads should be segmented based on the changes in the temperature and not using a uniform segmentation method.
