Dr. Tarig A. Ali
Associate Professor of Civil Engineering
College of Engineering
UAE

Biography
Dr. Tarig A. Ali holds a PhD in Geodetic Science and Surveying from the Ohio State University (OSU), USA. Dr. Ali has taught at East Tennessee State University (ETSU) and the University of Central Florida. Dr. Ali's research interests include coastal mapping, terrain modeling, wide-area GPS networks, and applications of geographic information systems and remote sensing in environmental and transportation engineering.

Abstract
On the Fidelity of Lidar-Based Roadway Surface Models (RSMs)

Acquisition of roadway data is essential for planning, design, and maintenance purposes. For roadway data collection, highway agencies typically rely on field techniques, which are time consuming, more expensive, and subject to weather and traffic conditions especially on busy roadways. Recent development and availability of new and emerging spatial data collection technologies has revolutionized the way roadway data is being collected. These technologies include the Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) systems, high-resolution optical and microwave satellite systems, and Global Positioning System (GPS) with advanced processing capability. The availability and popularity of the Lidar systems, which produce high intensity point clouds of the terrain surface, make it an appropriate technology for collecting roadway data. This paper presents the outcome of an assessment of the fidelity of a Lidar-based roadway surface model (RSM), which was created in this study for a roadway located in Pasco County, Florida. In order to assess the fidelity of the RSM, the roadway parameters and a RTK-GPS field survey data have been used. A 3D reference system for representing points on the roadway surface model (RSM) was developed. The new reference system, which consists of along-, across-, and normal to- the alignment; has allowed for robust representation of the Lidar points on the RSM and further for extracting main geometric parameters of the roadway.