• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.99-104
• /
• 2015

PURPOSES : It is well known that experts determined the current standard dimensions of freeway lane markings. However, rigorous engineering rationale could be insufficient regarding whether or not the standard dimensions account for how visible the markings are to the driver. In this study, we seek to optimize the dimensions of freeway lane markings to improve their visibility to drivers. METHODS : The study was conducted as follows. First, alternative lane marking dimensions were selected which could be installed in a test construction site. Second, a video recording was made while driving on the test construction site. Third, subjects were shown the recorded video and then instructed to indicate their preference from among the various lane markings. Lastly, t-tests were applied to assess the statistical significance of differences in the preferences expressed. RESULTS : According to the t-test results, there was no significant difference in the preferences expressed regarding the lane marking widths. However, with regard to the dimensions of freeway lane marking, which represents line marking lengths, gap lengths, and widths of marking, the subjects expressed a preference for specific dimensions such as 6 m:12 m,13 cm, 8 m:12 m,10 cm and 6 m:12 m,10 cm. CONCLUSIONS : In considering the dimensions of freeway lane markings and their relation to visibility by the driver, it was found that dimensions such as 6 m:12 m,13 cm, 8 m:12 m,10 cm and 6 m:12 m,10 cm.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2011

There is the uncertain period of the construction in case of the products meeting the quality standard of KS M 6080, the quality is degraded because of the abrasive loss of the paint caused by vehicle tires as the traffic amount increases and of the loss and detachment of the glass beads providing the retroreflective function. The abrupt degradation of visibility causes the high frequency of traffic accidents at night and increases the traffic accident rate. Additional supplementary construction induces the direct material and construction costs. As the more cost induction effect than the direct cost, the traffic jam caused by the additional construction increases the indirect social costs such as time cost and vehicle cost. Hence, the study is concerned with performing the abrasion resistance test based on the EN 1436 standard to check and improve the quality of various road marking materials resulting in improving the durability of road marking materials. However, even though the difference in the durability lifetime of resins(binders) is bibliographically or theoretically clear, there was no difference in the durability lifetime (retroreflectivity aspect) of the road marking paint using these binders. The reason is that the bonding of beads was very insufficient or that the cross density caused by crack or freshness was low. Moreover, the measured wet retroreflectivity was distributed as the Rw3 or higher class in average on the basis of EN 1436 but was very insufficient on the basis of the minimum wet threshold retroreflectivity with 100mcd/($m^2{\cdot}lx$) managed overseas.

• Current Optics and Photonics
• /
• v.3 no.5
• /
• pp.415-422
• /
• 2019

Retroreflection of vehicle headlights, as induced by spherical glass beads, is a key optical phenomenon that provides road-surface markings with greatly enhanced visibility, thus better securing a driver's safety in the nighttime as well as in unclear daytime. Retroreflectance of glass beads is a quite sensitive function of their refractive index, so that measurement of the refractive index of glass specifically in the shape of spherical beads needs to be performed within a reasonable uncertainty that is tolerable for road-marking applications. The Becke line method has been applied in assessing refractive index of such glass beads as e.g. an industrial standard in the Republic of Korea; however, the reference refractive-index liquids are not commercially available these days for refractive index greater than 1.80 due to the toxicity of the constituent materials. As such, high-refractive-index glass beads require an alternate method, and in this regard we propose a practically serviceable technique with uncertainty tantamount to that of the Becke line method: Based on comparison of calculated and measured retroreflectance values of commercial glass beads, we discover that their refractive index can be determined with reasonable precision via the retroreflectance measurement. Specifically, in this study the normalized retroreflectance originating from a single glass sphere is computed as a function of refractive index using the Fresnel equations, which is then validated as coinciding well with retroreflectance values measured from actual specimens, i.e. glass-bead aggregates. The uncertainties involved are delineated in connection with radius and imperfections of the glass beads.

• Annual Conference of KIPS
• /
• 2015.10a
• /
• pp.1408-1410
• /
• 2015

Information about the painted road markings and other painted road objects play an important part in keeping safety of drivers. Some researchers have presented research approaches and dealt with road markings detection. In this paper, we present comprehensive survey of these techniques, and review some of them like a machine learning method, template matching method for road markings detection and classification, method of detection and classification of road markings using curve-based prototype fitting, signed edge signature method.

• Current Optics and Photonics
• /
• v.3 no.5
• /
• pp.423-428
• /
• 2019

Visibility of road-surface markings is one of the critical issues that should be secured for self-driving cars as well as human drivers. Glass beads are taking on the role of retroreflectors, and therefore are considered a necessity in modern pavements. In this context, retroreflectance is sensitively dependent not only on the refractive index of glass beads but also on that of the surrounding medium. This implies that the optimum refractive index of glass beads immersed in water, i.e. under wet conditions, is different from that of glass beads surrounded by air, i.e. under dry conditions. A refractive index of approximately 1.9, which is known to maximize retroreflectance under dry conditions, actually exhibits much poorer retroreflectance under wet conditions. This suggests that glass beads with optimal refractive index for wet conditions need to be installed together with those for dry conditions. We propose a facile but practical model capable of calculating retroreflectance of glass beads surrounded by an arbitrary medium, here water in particular, and experimentally verify its capability of assessing the refractive index of commercial glass beads. Changes in retroreflectance according to the mixing ratio of glass beads with different refractive indices are also discussed, in an effort to propose the proper use of glass beads produced for dry and wet conditions.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.73-83
• /
• 2012

Effective use of traffic marking can lead to driver's safer driving by speed management and visibility enhancement. One of the critical factors in designing traffic marking is how to incorporate human factor issues into the design process. This study presented a methodology for evaluating the effectiveness of Hi-pass marking on Korean freeways based on kansei engineering. Hi-pass marking scenarios made by a virtual reality tool were used to evaluate the user's perceptions. Various combination of chevron angles and peripheral transverse(PT) bars were used for the evaluation. The results show that the most effective scenario is a combination of 60 degree chevron angle and an askew parallelogramshaped PT bar shaped. It is expected that the proposed method and outcome will be useful for making safer driving maneuvers.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.521-525
• /
• 2011

Lane marking detection is one of important issues in the field of autonomous mobile robot. Especially, in urban environment, like pavement roads of downtown or tour tracks of Science Park, which have continuous patterns on the surface of the road, the lane marking detection becomes more important ability. Although there were many researches about lane detection and lane tracing, many of them used vision sensors mainly to detect lane marking. In this paper, we obtain 2 dimensional library data of 'Intensity' and 'Distance' using one laser rangefinder only. We design a simple classifier and filtering algorithm for the lane detection which uses only one LRF (Laser Range Finder). Allowing extended usage of LRF, this research provides more functionality not only in range finding but also in lane detecting to mobile robots. This work will be technically helpful for robot developers to design more simple and efficient autonomous driving system using LRF.

• Journal of Korean Society of Transportation
• /
• v.22 no.1 s.72
• /
• pp.83-94
• /
• 2004

In 1968, United Nation prepared conventions to promote the safety and vitalization of traffic to accomodate increased international business and personal activities. They are convention on rad traffic and convention on road signs and signals. These conventions define the shape, color and the operational guidelines of signs, marking and traffic signals. However, the Korean road traffic law enforces independently the manufactural and operational guidelines of those devices and marking. Due to different regulations described in those two, potential problem might be expected in terms of international traffic in the near future in Korea. This paper presents the academical comparison between these two different road traffic regulations established by the Korean legislature and United Nation. It suggests a list of researches recommended for the nation to be ready to integrate international traffic.

• Korean Journal of Geomatics
• /
• v.3 no.1
• /
• pp.67-72
• /
• 2003

We have seen rapid changes in road systems and networks in urban areas due to fast urbanization and increased traffic demands. As a result, many researchers have put greater importance on extraction, correction and updating of information about road systems. Also, by using the various data on road systems and its condition, we can manage our road more efficiently and economically. Furthermore, such information can be used as input for digital map and GIS analysis. In this research, we used a high resolution aerial photo of the roads in Seongnam area. First, we applied the top-hat filter to the area of interest so that the road markings could be extracted in an efficient manner. The lane separation lines were selected, considering the shape similarity between the selected lane separation line and reference data. Next, we extracted the roads in the urban area using the aforementioned road marking. Using this technique, we could easily extract roads in urban area in semi-automatic way.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.22 no.12
• /
• pp.1046-1052
• /
• 2016

For the safe driving of autonomous vehicles, accurate position estimation is required. Generally, position error must be less than 1m because of lane keeping. However, GPS positioning error is more than 1m. Therefore, we must correct this error and a map matching algorithm is generally used. Especially, road marking intensity map have been used in many studies. In previous work, 3D LIDAR with many vertical layers was used to generate a local intensity map. Because it can be obtained sufficient longitudinal information for map matching. However, it is expensive and sufficient road marking information cannot be obtained in rush hour situations. In this paper, we propose a localization algorithm using an accumulated intensity local map. An accumulated intensity local map can be generated with sufficient longitudinal information using 3D LIDAR with a few vertical layers. Using this algorithm, we can also obtain sufficient intensity information in rush hour situations. Thus, it is possible to increase the reliability of the map matching and get accurate position estimation result. In the experimental result, the lateral RMS position error is about 0.12m and the longitudinal RMS error is about 0.19m.