IRI Tracker Road Roughness Monitor is a mobile iOS application for Apple iPhone devices. It is a tool for visual monitoring and documenting the roughness of paved roads.
The app uses the sensors of your smartphone and GPS data to estimate the International Roughness Index (IRI) along the driven route. The result is a visual “roughness map” with segments highlighted by their IRI level.
IRI Road Roughness Monitor is designed for:
– road construction and maintenance contractors;
– site engineers and foremen;
– quality control and supervision teams;
– municipal road maintenance services.
Typical use cases:
– preliminary assessment of pavement roughness on newly built or repaired roads;
– documenting bumps, potholes and uneven areas before and after maintenance;
– comparing different sections and monitoring changes over time.
Disclaimer
This app is not a certified measurement instrument. It is an indicative monitoring tool that helps to visually detect and document potential roughness issues on paved roads. For official acceptance tests, use certified equipment and methods required by your local regulations.
Make sure your phone is firmly fixed in the vehicle and will not move during driving.
Close other apps that may use GPS or heavy background activity.
Enable Location Services and allow the app to access your location “While Using the App”.
Perform calibration for each vehicle:
• park the car in a safe place on a level surface;
• start the engine and let it idle;
• fix the phone in the same position that will be used during logging;
• start the calibration process in the app and wait until it is finished;
• save the calibration for this specific vehicle.
Proper calibration helps to filter out the own vibrations of each vehicle and improves the consistency of IRI estimates.
Choose the vehicle and basic settings in the app if available.
If you plan to record a long route as a series of logs:
• set the maximum log length in the app settings so that recording stops automatically when this length is reached;
• enable “Automatically start the next log” if you need continuous recording of a long route – the app will automatically start a new log when the previous one reaches its maximum length.
Open the app and wait until GPS is fixed (position indicator becomes stable).
Press Start to begin a new log.
Drive along the section you want to measure, keeping a steady speed and avoiding hard braking or acceleration where possible.
When you finish the section, press Stop.
Save the log with a meaningful name (project, road number, date, direction, etc.).
– Open the Logs panel and select the desired log.
– Use the map view to see the route and colour-coded segments by IRI level.
– Tap a segment to see its approximate IRI value and length.
– You can add comments and media (photos/videos) to highlight specific problems such as bumps, potholes or ruts.
– Use the Export function to save a log as a file and share it with colleagues or other devices.
– The exported file contains GPS track, calculated IRI values and attached media (if supported).
– Use the Import function to open logs received from other users running the app.
– For best results, drive at a stable, moderate speed (for example around 40–50 km/h, if permitted and safe).
– Avoid strong steering inputs, lane changes or aggressive acceleration/braking during the measurement section.
– Try to keep the same mounting position of the phone for comparable measurements.
Q: What is IRI?
A: IRI (International Roughness Index) is a standardised indicator of road surface roughness. The app uses your phone’s sensors to estimate relative IRI values along the route.
Q: How accurate are the IRI values in the app?
A: The app is intended for indicative monitoring only. Results depend on the mounting of the phone, vehicle type, speed and driving style. For official measurements, certified equipment and procedures are required.
Q: Do I need an internet connection?
A: GPS logging and IRI calculation work offline. However, an internet connection may be needed for online maps, data backup and exporting logs via email or messengers.
Q: Which devices and iOS versions are supported?
A: The app is designed for recent iPhone models with iOS 17.6 or later. Performance and accuracy may vary between devices.
Q: Why do I need to fix the phone in the vehicle?
A: If the phone moves relative to the vehicle, the vibration readings become distorted and the IRI estimate is no longer reliable. Solid mounts are recommended for using.
Q: Does the phone orientation matter during logging?
A: The initial orientation of the phone (portrait/landscape, rotation) does not matter as long as it stays constant during the whole log. It is important that the phone does not change its orientation or mounting position while recording, otherwise the vibration data and IRI estimates may become inconsistent.
Q: What is the maximum route length that can be recorded?
A: The maximum length of a single log is 2.4 km, but for convenience we recommend using about 1.5 km per log. The maximum number of automatic log recordings in one series is 10, so the total number of logs in a series is 11 (one initial log plus ten automatically started logs). With the maximum log length of 2.4 km, the maximum “continuous” distance that can be recorded in one series is therefore about 26.4 km.
Q: Can I attach photos or videos to a log?
A: Yes, you can attach media and comments to mark specific problem areas. This helps to visually document bumps, potholes, cracks or other defects.
Q: How can I send a log to a colleague?
A: Open the log, choose Export, then share the resulting file via email, messenger or cloud storage. Another user with the app installed can import this file.
If you have questions, technical issues or suggestions for improvement, please contact us:
Email support: smoothroads.sup@gmail.com
When contacting support, please include:
– app name and version;
– your iPhone model and iOS version;
– brief description of the problem;
– if possible, screenshots or a short video showing the issue.
App Store page: IRITracker