What If Your Car’s Sensors Were Detecting Government Pitfalls? It was found at Honda
Modern cars are already equipped with various cameras and sensors that monitor other cars, cyclists and pedestrians to reduce or prevent collisions with them, and there is some of that technology coming soon, especially with autonomous taxis. But what if that existing technology could report bad potholes or missing lane markings and signs? Honda got that.
With an extensive manufacturing and development facility in Ohio, Honda partnered with the DriveOhio division of the Ohio Department of Transportation in a two-year study that tested whether data generated by vehicles could be used to report roads in need of repair or lack of signs and directions to the transportation agency. The two-year pilot program, also in partnership with the University of Cincinnati, Parsons Corporation and i-Probe Inc, involves Ohio DOT employees driving Hondas equipped with various cameras and Lidar to cover about 3,000 miles of roads in the state.
Honda started a prototype Proactive Road Maintenance System in 2021, with that system designed to detect problems including poor road quality for any type of vehicle, damaged guardrails or road barriers, steep or deteriorating shoulder slopes, even insufficient or non-existent road lines and damaged or worn road signs.
“Production vehicle sensors are primarily designed for driving and safety – not for asset monitoring – but their ability to continuously collect data during daily driving creates unique value at scale,” said Daisuke Oshima, president and CEO of i-Probe, on Thursday in a statement. “Unlocking that value requires analytics specifically designed to account for these factors, and this project shows how vehicle sensor data can complement existing testing systems and support effective asset management.”
Human workers verified what the cameras picked up and reported to the Department of Transportation using Parsons technology and Robots verified the data and openly criticized road conditions and the quality of lane markings and signs. Ultimately, the system was successful 99% of the time in finding damaged or hidden signs, 93% of damaged guardrails and 89% of potholes, according to Honda.
“By using real-time vehicle data to detect traffic accidents and infrastructure issues, Honda, ODOT and our project partners are showing how smart, flexible solutions can improve safety, reduce costs and improve safety for everyone who shares the road,” Sue Bai, senior engineer, Sustainability and Business Development at American Honda, said in a statement Thursday.
Honda says the Ohio DOT can save $4.5 million in road-related maintenance costs through the program due to less time spent on manual inspections, better scheduling of repairs and better scheduling of preventive maintenance. The car manufacturing company says it wants the next phase of testing to find ways for its drivers to share information with the relevant company and report problems with the roads being traveled, or find areas that may need repairs in the future.
