Asphalt pavement maintenance is critical for road service life and traffic safety, yet conventional crack detection and Pavement Condition Index (PCI) assessment methods suffer from inefficiency and subjectivity. This paper presents an integrated system for intelligent crack recognition and automated PCI evaluation, aiming to bridge the gap between automated identification and intelligent assessment. The system employs an optimized YOLOv11l-seg model for precise crack segmentation and geometric parameter extraction, and introduces a refined PCI model incorporating geometry-based adjustment factors for differentiated scoring. Using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data, a fully automated workflow is established—from image acquisition and stitching to crack detection, PCI calculation, and result visualization. Experimental results demonstrate the accuracy of extracted crack parameters and the superior discriminative capability and engineering rationality of the proposed PCI model over conventional approaches. The generated panoramic condition maps provide intuitive visual support for maintenance decision-making. This research validates the feasibility of a fully auto-mated closed-loop system from detection to evaluation, offering a practical solution for intelligent pavement maintenance.
Zhu et al. (Mon,) studied this question.