This project investigated the potential for radio-frequency (RFID) tags, containing data relating to pavement materials and construction, to be buried in road surfaces during their laying, and subsequently read at traffic speed. The objective was to determine the feasibility of a new method of recording, and improving access to, data relating to pavement surface construction. A number of RFID tags containing a limited amount of data were buried in a short length of the M4 motorway during re-surfacing. The tags had previously been written with a number of bytes of information. Trial reading was later carried out at traffic speed using a long-range RFID reader and antenna mounted on a vehicle. To do this it had been necessary to develop custom software to read tag data at the highest possible rate, due to the very limited time available. The results showed that data could be successfully read from a high proportion of the tags at motorway traffic speed. This confirms that the system is viable for use in the asset management process, providing an in-situ record of pavement construction and maintenance which could be further linked to remote pavement management databases. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting