It may look like a tricked out yellow ambulance, but in reality MoDOT’s Automatic Road Analyzer (ARAN) van is a useful tool in collecting data on Missouri’s roads.

“Driving down the road we are able to determine the smoothness of the pavement, the rutting of the pavement, if applicable, and the geometry of the road, specifically, the grade, cross fall, and vertical and horizontal curvatures,” said Jay Whaley, transportation data systems coordinator.

ARAN vans have been in use in Missouri since 1988. Prior to the purchase of the current van in 2002, ARAN teams collected an average of 14,000 miles worth of data on Missouri roads each year. In 2005, the ARAN team of Pat Kennedy, Todd Schneider, Kevin Haslag and Field Crew Leader Gene Nichols collected a record-setting 25,000 miles worth of data, despite the fact that the van must be driven more than 10 mph slower than previous vans. Before this record, data was collected on an average of 21,000 miles.

The current ARAN van includes a number of features that help collect valuable information. Among these are three digital cameras found on the front of the van that take pictures every 21.12 feet. Two more digital cameras take pictures of the pavement at an average of 16 frames per second. A bar using 31 ultrasonic sensors detects ruts in the road. The Position and Orientation for Land Vehicles unit combines data from gyros and accelerometers with the Geographic Positioning System and a Distance Measurement Instrument making it possible to derive the exact position of points on the road surface.

In addition, as many as six video cameras can be trained on the front, sides or back of the road to create a video record of the trip. Using the video, pavement condition can be visually checked from the office.

Data and images collected with the current van have been placed on the MoDOT network and are available to anyone who has TMS installed on their computer. Users can then familiarize themselves with locations, alignments and conditions from the safety of their desks.

Information collected by the ARAN van has a wide variety of uses. According to Whaley, one of the largest data users is the Chief Counsel’s office, which uses the information collected by ARAN as evidence in legal cases.

“No one can say for certain how much the ARAN video has benefited MoDOT, but I recall my predecessor Jim Smith saying that a few months after the purchase of the first ARAN, MoDOT won a suit where our evidence was based almost entirely on ARAN video,” Whaley said. “The amount of the suit was more than the purchase price of the ARAN.”