Patent ID: 7697727

Claim:
A system for determining surface conditions in real time comprising: at least one a real time line scan digital camera positioned at least five feet above the surface of the road to capture one or more images of a surface, wherein each of the at least one a real time line scan digital camera views a surface area of at least 6 feet by at least 1.5 feet; at least 2 IR laser projectors positioned above and aimed at the surface; a light source positioned above and aimed at the surface; a frame grabber in optical communication with the at least one a real time line scan digital camera, the at least 2 IR laser line projectors, and the light source; and an image processing device that processes the one or more images to identify defects in the surface by forming one or more grid cells of one or more pixels, determining a pixel grayscale intensity of each of the one or more pixels, comparing the pixel grayscale intensity of each adjacent pixel, assigning each adjacent pixel as a defect or a non-defect in each of the one or more grid cells, and comparing the one or more grid cells to determine the presence of a defect; and designates the region as defective.