Hello TBC’ers! This week we’re exploring the "Inspect Pavement Condition" command, a powerful feature for automatically identifying visible conditions on asphalt roadway pavement such as alligator and linear cracks, depressions, corrugations, rutting, potholes, and bumps. This tool extracts these conditions as features with attributes, allows for severity labeling based on the ASTM Pavement Condition Index, and can generate heat maps indicating elevation differences. The analysis results can be easily shared via a Pavement Condition Inspection report.
To begin this workflow, ensure your mobile mapping data is imported and processed, then follow these steps:
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Before beginning, generate Ortholane imagery along the run that will be inspected. This is not required however it is highly recommended to get the best results from the PCI command. If unfamiliar with this process, please review this previous Tip of the Week:
https://community.trimble.com/blogs/anna-zapel/2025/01/30/tbc-tip-234-ortho-lane-command
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Now that Ortholane imagery is generated, navigate to the Mobile Mapping tab, then select Analysis > Inspect Pavement Condition to open the command pane.
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In the command pane, click in the "Selected Mobile Mapping run" field and select the relevant Mobile Mapping run trajectory from the Plan View or Project Explorer.
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Identify the sections of pavement for inspection by creating or selecting linestrings for the bordering lane lines. You can automatically extract these using the "Extract Lane Lines" command, with instructions on how to do it here in this previous Tip of the Week:
https://community.trimble.com/blogs/anna-zapel/2025/01/03/tbc-tip-230-automatic-lane-line-extraction
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Click into the “Select lane lines” box. Select all the lane lines that were just generated while holding shift. This will create separate Polygons for each lane.
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Review the "Analysis Parameters" section. While default values are often sufficient, note settings like "Sample unit area size," "Analyze per segment" (ensure checked for detailed localization), "Sample segment length," and "Height/depth threshold". If Ortholane was generated before beginning, select ‘Detect cracks” and click Ortho Lane.
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Ensure the correct Mobile Mapping run is still selected, then click the Analyze button to begin the inspection process. Progress will be displayed in the Status Bar.
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After analysis, click the Confirm Analysis button to save the results in your project. Before confirming, you can specify a new layer for results display (e.g., "Pavement Condition"), verify that all filtering options are checked for conditions and severities to be included, and optionally review or adjust "Severity Thresholds" for different condition types. Unchecked conditions/severities will not appear in reports or contribute to the Pavement Condition Score.
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In the Project Explorer, expand the "Pavement Condition Inspection" node under “Feature Extraction” to see "Sample Unit" and "Segment" nodes. You can expand these to view individual pavement conditions found during the analysis. Double-click any node to view its properties, including PCI scores for sample units or segments.
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Generate a Heat Map (Optional): To visualize elevation differences, uncheck the "Pavement Condition Inspection" node in the Project Explorer, then select all sample units, right-click, and choose Generate Heatmap. Confirm the settings in the command pane and click the "Generate Heatmap" button. You can toggle the heatmap and its legend on/off in the view.
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To print a comprehensive report of the analysis results, click the Pavement Condition Inspection Report icon in the "Inspect Pavement Condition" command pane toolbar. The report will summarize the analysis and provide detailed results for each sample unit.
By following these steps, you can effectively inspect and analyze pavement conditions on scanned roadway pavement, identifying visible conditions such as alligator and linear cracks, depressions, corrugations, rutting, potholes, and bumps. This process allows for the extraction of these conditions as features with attributes and the calculation of Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores.
You’re all set! Maximize your TBC experience and ensure smooth workflows by utilizing learning & support material most aligned with your needs and personal preferences.
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