Pavemetrics Systems Inc.

Founded in Quebec City in 2009, Pavemetrics Systems Inc. is a National Optics Institute (INO) spin-off company that produces laser systems capable of effectively monitoring transportation infrastructure conditions over time. Its automated inspection technology can produce highresolution 2D images and 3D profiles of various transportation infrastructure surfaces at speeds of up to 100km/h, in the day or at night, to ensure traffic is not impacted. Collected data can then be processed with Pavemetrics’ automated analysis software.

“INO is the perfect partner for small companies like ours. They [INO] have infrastructure, resources, and technical expertise that we leverage. The reality for small companies is that in the beginning, as you grow and expand, you simply do not have all of the capabilities, skill sets, and resources required, and for us it would be counterproductive to try and do everything in-house. We rely on INO for their expertise and professionalism, they are a one-stop-shop for our optics and vision systems needs.”
Richard Habel, President and CEO, Pavemetrics Systems Inc.

The initial concept for the inspection technology began in the mid-1990’s when the Department of Transportation approached INO looking for a system to monitor road conditions, determine where cracks in the pavement were, and identify when repairs needed to be made. As a result, INO developed three families of laser systems for inspecting roadways: Laser Rut Measurement Systems (LRMS), Laser Road Imaging Systems (LRIS), and the Laser Crack Measurement System (LCMSTM). During the development of the high definition 3D LCMSTM, two INO scientists along with a third co-founder decided to form a company and license the technology from INO. In November 2009, they reached an agreement with INO to spin-off the technology forming Pavementrics.

At the time Pavemetrics was formed, 40 out of the 50 US States were using their technology to inspect their highways. Since then, the company has focused on adding new functionalities in response to market needs, considerably increasing its overall value and tripling revenues. In 2013, systems produced by Pavemetrics were used to inspect more than six million kilometres of road, which is more than 15 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The nine-person company now has more than 400 systems successfully deployed in 40 different countries around the world for a wide variety of infrastructure management applications, including: road pavement condition evaluation, detection of foreign object debris (FOD) at airports, railway inspection, and high-speed-train-tunnel vault lining inspection.

INO is an Innoventures Canada consortium member organization that assists Canadian companies in commercializing their research, it continues to manufacture the LRMS, LRIS, and LCMSTM for Pavemetrics, and holds a minority interest in the company.

Pavemetrics aims to continue expansion internationally, and sees substantial growth opportunities in the Asia Pacific market over the next several years. The company also plans to adapt its technology to enter additional markets within the transportation industry, and will continue to work with INO as they develop the hardware improvements required to address these markets.

I have reviewed this document and release its content to Innoventures Canada and INO for the purpose of impact reporting.

Richard Habel
President and CEO, Pavemetrics Systems Inc.