Research Trends and Results

Initiatives to provide airport pavement etc. inspection
support system using smartphones etc.
ASHIDA Yosuke, Researcher
NAKASHIMA Susumu, Head
KATO Mitsuru, Deputy Head
Airport Construction Systems Division, Airport Department(Key words) Airport, pavement, inspection system, smartphone
1. Introduction
Airport pavement and other facilities are inspected
every day, visually on foot or while driving a vehicle.
But preparing inspection records is labor-intensive
because the facilities are wide and it is done at night,
so it takes time to identify the locations of problems.
For this reason, to increase the efficiency ofinspections, we are studying the development of an
airport pavement etc. inspection support system using
smartphones, which have come into wide use in recentyears.

This development can lower the costs ofintroduction because it uses smartphones available on
the market. And using a free map data provision
service can lower the development cost andmaintenance cost.
The system can be used by installing the newly
developed App into smartphones etc.
At the scene, it must be done during the limited
period at night, so to reduce the entry work, recording
will be done with a pull-down menu, pictures takenusing the built-in camera, and positioning done at thesame time using the GPS function. And sending therecorded data to a database server (DB server) using
its communication function, will permit the office toimmediately clarify the status of an inspection andautomatically prepare records in a time series. (Fig. 2)
And by storing each airport’s data centrally in a
database server, users can count on being able to see
all data and to perform strategic management using
these data.

2. Image of the airport pavement etc. inspection
support system
To inspect facilities, inspectors now carry a fieldnotebook and pen to keep records, a camera to takepictures, and measuring tape to identify locations. A
smartphone etc. contains built-in functions to enter
records, take pictures, and obtain location information,so an inspector can perform an inspection carrying one
smartphone. (Fig. 1)

3. Future initiatives
In the future, we plan to [1] develop the application,[2] study and build the DB server environment, and[3] verify its feasibility by field testing.

Figure 1. Equipment Carried for Inspections
You can enter records,
take pictures, obtain location
information with just one
smartphone

Field notebook
and penCamera

Measuring
tapeSmartphone

Figure 2. Airport Pavement etc. Inspection Support System Using Smartphones (Image)Airport pavement etc. inspection support system using smartphones (image)
Easy to take picturesand obtain location
information using its
internal camera and GPS

Simple pull-down
entry

Centralized controlof data
To introduce,
just install theApp

Inspection
AppApp screen configuration (image)Transmit data

Immediately
reference, store andprint inspection
recordTake pictures withits built-in camera

Obtain location
information withbuilt-in GPS

Photography

Location information

AirportDate/time
Facility
Abnormality

Referenceand print

Impact on operation
Response

Photo
Location map

Smartphone

DB serverPC

Record