New research platform for better roads – and more

VTI Mobile Research Platform, MRP, is one of the world’s most advanced measuring vehicles, which will enable safer traffic and more sustainable transport in the future. It can also be used for completely different tasks.

VTI Mobile Research Platform. Photo: VTI.

The new research platform will primarily be used to examine different road surfaces and can measure everything from millimetre-sized cracks to unevenness spanning several hundred metres. The vehicle can also measure noise, temperature, and air pollution around the road surface. With the help of a lidar scanner and a 360-degree camera, the surroundings of the road can also be measured and represented in 3D models, so-called digital twins.

The measurements are carried out to make future infrastructure and traffic safer and more sustainable. Several practical applications are linked to climate change and the risk of extreme weather. For example, the research platform can be used to measure subsidence in road surfaces following heavy rainfall. It can also be used to create digital models showing flood risks around a road.

It will also be possible for other organisations to make use of the equipment, meaning its application won’t be limited to roads, the environment, or traffic. One of the first projects, for instance, involves creating a detailed 3D model of a city for simulation, urban planning, and maintenance purposes.

‘The system is flexible, and the possibilities are many. In essence, only imagination limits what the research platform can be used for,’ says Research Engineer Thomas Lundberg.

The new road surface measurement vehicle was inaugurated by Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Andreas Carlson, during his visit to VTI in Linköping on Monday.

‘I feel proud of VTI in its role as a world-leading research institute. VTI is important both for Swedish infrastructure and globally. It is welcome news that the measurement vehicle, as a research tool, can take in more and more parameters,’ says Andreas Carlson.

VTI’s Director General, Tomas Svensson, emphasises that the road surface measurement vehicle is a prerequisite for the government’s road maintenance initiative.

‘With this investment in modern, high-quality, and flexible measurement equipment, we ensure that the road transport system is maintained and developed based on the best possible knowledge base,’ says Tomas Svensson.

A key component of the new research vehicle is precise absolute positioning. This is achieved with equipment that positions data to a centimetre level, for both road surface and area data.

Read more about the new vehicle here

Text: Mikael Sönne/VTI

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