SIRANO DE SCETAUROUTE

This article describes a new high-speed pavement investigation system, that has been developed in France. In the late 1980s, a French consortium specified the requirements for a multi-function pavement management system (PMS). These included: (1) one-pass surveying of several characteristics; (2) survey speed of at least 70kph; (3) automatic data acquisition and processing; (4) continuity and equivalence with existing single-function PMS; and (5) the possibility of entering reference points and events, to facilitate establishing a database using one reference system. In January 1989, after it was found that no such system was commercially available, the group decided to create it, and named it SIRANO (Optimal Numerical Analysis and Inspection System for Roads and Motorways). It was developed by a network of laboratories, and its operational commissioning began in June 1991. One of its important original features is its combination of the measuring functions of existing single-function systems. To ensure the spatial correlation of all its measurements, SIRANO has one distance function, shared by all its measurement systems. Its subsystems include: (1) two longitudinal profile analyser trailers; (2) the Gerpho photographic road examination system, surveying surface damage; and (3) a laser transverse profilograph, to measure tranverse evenness. A data processing network, managed by a supervisor, centrally controls the measurement functions. A SIRANO system is operated by a crew of two technicians.