All those in the concrete pavement industry, members of our association, affiliates, and technology partners are encouraged to participate in a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) pilot research project that uses smartphone technology and crowdsourcing to assess and report road conditions across the United States. MIT researchers have developed a method to assess road roughness properties using acceleration data from smartphones mounted inside of vehicles. This method can also be used to map the aggregated excess fuel consumption and other factors.
Please join MIT in participation in the research project! To begin,
- Download MIT’s CARBIN app—available in both the Apple Store for iPhones and the Google Play Store for Android phones. Please note: MIT will not collect your personal information; the app “sees” each phone only as an anonymous, randomly assigned number that cannot be linked to any personal data.
- Activate the app by pressing “start” as you begin driving. Note: Please see special usage information below.*
- Click “end” at the end of your trip. The data are then automatically sent to MIT for processing.
- CARBIN will use your smartphone’s internal GPS and accelerometers to measure the road roughness as you drive your vehicle. The app will then convert the measurements to International Roughness Index (IRI) data, which are further calculated to show excess fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
- The data are mapped and visible on the “Fix My Roads” website: https://fixmyroad.us/. The website shows road conditions and where repairs are needed. The map will start to fill in as data are collected from all states across the country (Currently, data has only been gathered from around Boston, Mass.).
Future updates will include combining the results with other sources, including traffic volume data from Google maps (and other apps), as well as collecting data over time to account for seasonal changes, developing deterioration rates, etc.
The advantage of using this form of “Crowdsourcing” allows for the collection of millions of data points on road conditions—effectively creating a massive database of road conditions—updated by all CARBIN app users.
In addition to viewing the results on the “Fix My Roads” website, users will eventually be able to get personalized reports of IRI and excess fuel consumption on roads traveled.
To learn more about the app, please view the VIDEO titled “Fix My Road: How Your Smartphone Can Improve Our Infrastructure While Addressing Climate Change”, created from a recent MIT webinar, which previewed the app. The video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfrVlUnyWoM&feature=youtu.be
as well as in ACPA’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ConcretePavements.
For CARBIN information specifically, skip to time marker 19:10 and start from there.
For the Apple app, please click on “Apple Store” in #1 above, or go to: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/carbin/id1451444581?mt=8
For the Google app, please click on “Google Play Store” in #1 above, or go to: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.carbin.carbin2
*For the CARBIN app to work properly:
First: The phone screen always needs to be on: If the screen turns off,
turn it back on to allow the CARBIN App to start collecting data again.
Second: Phone needs to be in a holder or on the floor:
It cannot be loose on the dash (phone can slide around and move),
and cannot be placed on a seat (too much cushioning).
It will alter the readings, masking or hiding the bumps/road roughness.