Method for detecting road defects using images obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles

With road defects being a key factor in traffic accidents, driver safety, vehicle condition and travel speed, they need to be promptly repaired. The defects include cracks, ruts and potholes on the road surface, and if not repaired in due time, they grow in size very quickly. There are various methods that are used to detect road defects, one of which is a computer vision method. Typically, digital cameras are installed on cars and then the resulting set of images from a given section of the road is processed. This article proposes a technique for obtaining images using unmanned aerial vehicles, which provides the required amount of data to assess the road condition on lengthy road sections. A technique for identifying road cracks and estimating parameters defined in the road traffic regulations is proposed. As a result of the studies, real images are obtained and processed using the method proposed herein, showing high performance and accuracy and indicating the possibility of its future practical uses.