Google could track potholes to help you avoid them down the road

[techbeck]

Google has filed a patent for a way to track potholes across the United States, using your car's GPS navigation system and other sensors to detect damaged portions of a road, put that information into a database, and then use it to determine a less bumpy route.

Google could monitor the vibrations your car is subjected to when you rumble over a pothole, and cross reference that with GPS data — something that is standard on most cars these days. By doing this in many cars, Google could pinpoint where potholes have sprung up while also canceling out anomalies. All that data would then be used to alert drivers about damaged roads and suggest a way around them. (Hi, Google Maps.)

The more data that can be collected about potholes and road damage, the better, because the country's infrastructure is flailing and underfunded. America loses an estimated $87 billion annually in lost time and fuel thanks to overcrowded roads. Potholes play a part in this: they create traffic, cause accidents, and damage vehicles. And, as Gizmodo points out, Google has a fleet of autonomous cars that it would love to introduce to all this data.

More
http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/25/9207275/google-pothole-tracking-cars-gps

[BinaryData]

Creepy....

[firey]

Won't do much good here in Edmonton.. 90% of the roads are just a giant pothole.

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

Creepy....

 

Or an easy to to report to the respective local government responsible for filling the pot hole, or the very least.

Have it officially reported so when they don't / can't fix it, you can sue for damages since it was reported to them and not fixed fixed in a timely fashion.
Most places you're out of luck if you sustain damage via pothole, but it's not been reported to the local government.

[techbeck]

Creepy....

Why?  I welcome something like this.  Potholes, suck.  I hit a big one driving at night a few years back and damaged 2 tires/rims and cost me over $1k to fix.  Took them a while to fix the pot hole as well.  I hope this becomes a thing, is popular, and puts a spotlight on the problem.

Edited August 26, 2015 by techbeck

[Tuskd]

I am a road. I have imperfections. That doesn't mean that you could map every part of me. These potholes are strategically placed on me by the govt. to make driving a bit more surprising and enjoyable. You are just trying to make more people use your services. And in that process you are embarrassing me and you are invading into my private life. I'll sue you Google.

[BinaryData]

 

Or an easy to to report to the respective local government responsible for filling the pot hole, or the very least.

Have it officially reported so when they don't / can't fix it, you can sue for damages since it was reported to them and not fixed fixed in a timely fashion.
Most places you're out of luck if you sustain damage via pothole, but it's not been reported to the local government.

Potholes exist from lack of care to the road. It costs a fortune to fix things. We had a hole on the highway for 3 years before it got fixed.

Why?  I welcome something like this.  Potholes, suck.  I hit a big one driving at night a few years back and damaged 2 tires/rims and cost me over $1k to fix.  Took them a while to fix the pot hole as well.  I hope this becomes a thing, is popular, and puts a spotlight on the problem.

If you're paying attention to the road, you shouldn't have an issue dodging pot holes.

I'm just saying, it seems like a MASSIVE security issue. Goes back to the whole "tracking" people and snooping. I wouldn't want this in my car.

[Lant]

Might be interesting to see how this progresses seeing as JRL has already been doing some work on this.

http://newsroom.jaguarlandrover.com/en-in/jlr-corp/news/2015/06/jlr_pothole_alert_research_100615/?&locus=1

[techbeck]

 

If you're paying attention to the road, you shouldn't have an issue dodging pot holes.
 

Dark road, out in the country, going around a curve...paying attention has nothing to do with it.  Then you toss in fox/bad weather conditions that cause visibility issues.  Debris and pot holes fill many roads and you cannot avoid everything.  And I am sure this will be a feature that can be turned off if so desired.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

Won't do much good here in Edmonton.. 90% of the roads are just a giant pothole.

really? i was in calgary and i thought the roads are amazing compared to toronto.

toronto has terrible roads, and the road crews work extremely slow, only to start the repairs again next year.    it is just terrible for the canada's largest city

[rfirth]

If you're paying attention to the road, you shouldn't have an issue dodging pot holes.

 

Some pot holes are a lot bigger than they appear. 

[Southern Patriot]

 

Some pot holes are a lot bigger than they appear. 

 

Yep, or they are large enough to be unavoidable without going into another lane of traffic, which might not always be possible (two lane road, heavy traffic, etc.).

[firey]

really? i was in calgary and i thought the roads are amazing compared to toronto.

toronto has terrible roads, and the road crews work extremely slow, only to start the repairs again next year.    it is just terrible for the canada's largest city

The problem with Torontos roads are the damn city car tracks.  I lived in Ontario until last year when I moved here and drove around Toronto a fair number of times and yea they weren't the best.. but not bad.   Here they are just brutal, they have gotten better.. but yea Edmonton roads are not very nice.   I haven't been to Calgary (outside of the airport) so I can't really compare.

[BinaryData]

Dark road, out in the country, going around a curve...paying attention has nothing to do with it.  Then you toss in fox/bad weather conditions that cause visibility issues.  Debris and pot holes fill many roads and you cannot avoid everything.  And I am sure this will be a feature that can be turned off if so desired.

Seems fishy. Dark road, country, curve, fox and bad weather? I feel this is more bull**** than truth, but whatever. Maybe it's just me, but when I drive on unfamiliar roads, I'm a lot more cautious. I drive slower, and I'm more alert. Plus, it's the country. It's GOING to have potholes.

 

Some pot holes are a lot bigger than they appear. 

 

There are so many things that could be said... Good and bad, bahaha.

Yep, or they are large enough to be unavoidable without going into another lane of traffic, which might not always be possible (two lane road, heavy traffic, etc.).

True, but the way he described it was "country", sorry but I live in city limits, and the country roads here have potholes, they get fixed once every 10 years. That's IF the Government has left over funds. I do agree, that some potholes are unavoidable.

[techbeck]

Seems fishy. Dark road, country, curve, fox and bad weather? I feel this is more bull**** than truth, but whatever. Maybe it's just me, but when I drive on unfamiliar roads, I'm a lot more cautious. I drive slower, and I'm more alert. Plus, it's the country. It's GOING to have potholes.

You can call it ###### all you want.  Large trucks/semis frequently travel on these roads as well as farm equipment.  There are ZERO lights on the road out in the country.  The road could be fine in the morning and a few hours later, a vehicle tears up part of it.  Also, weather/ice/snow/rain can cause the roads to deteriorate.  Not about being familiar, not about be cautious.  Yes, it is going to have pot holes but for them to take a long time to fix a reported issue like that, is unacceptable.

[Arachno 1D]

What if the system was accidently left on whilst having [cough] fun in the back seat Google would think the area was full of pot holes?

[n_K]

I am a road. I have imperfections. That doesn't mean that you could map every part of me. These potholes are strategically placed on me by the govt. to make driving a bit more surprising and enjoyable. You are just trying to make more people use your services. And in that process you are embarrassing me and you are invading into my private life. I'll sue you Google.

Drugs to be left at the entrance, outside the thread please.

Good idea if they could feed the information back to get the roads fixed up.

What if the system was accidently left on whilst having [cough] fun in the back seat Google would think the area was full of pot holes?

It wouldn't just be 'one vehicle detected vibrations - mark road for repair', it'd be a cloud system where multiple vehicles would have to note a pothole there for it to flagged.

[xrobwx71]

Google has filed a patent for a way to track potholes across the United States, using your car's GPS navigation system and other sensors to detect damaged portions of a road, put that information into a database, and then use it to determine a less bumpy route.

Google could monitor the vibrations your car is subjected to when you rumble over a pothole, and cross reference that with GPS data — something that is standard on most cars these days. By doing this in many cars, Google could pinpoint where potholes have sprung up while also canceling out anomalies. All that data would then be used to alert drivers about damaged roads and suggest a way around them. (Hi, Google Maps.)

The more data that can be collected about potholes and road damage, the better, because the country's infrastructure is flailing and underfunded. America loses an estimated $87 billion annually in lost time and fuel thanks to overcrowded roads. Potholes play a part in this: they create traffic, cause accidents, and damage vehicles. And, as Gizmodo points out, Google has a fleet of autonomous cars that it would love to introduce to all this data.

More
http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/25/9207275/google-pothole-tracking-cars-gps

Why can't they put these same sensors and glean the GPS data from their own cars that roam the earth while obtaining Google maps street view data? Or: They probably already have the data but would need a way to keep it current.

[Southern Patriot]

Seems fishy. Dark road, country, curve, fox and bad weather? I feel this is more bull**** than truth, but whatever. Maybe it's just me, but when I drive on unfamiliar roads, I'm a lot more cautious. I drive slower, and I'm more alert. Plus, it's the country. It's GOING to have potholes.

There are so many things that could be said... Good and bad, bahaha.

True, but the way he described it was "country", sorry but I live in city limits, and the country roads here have potholes, they get fixed once every 10 years. That's IF the Government has left over funds. I do agree, that some potholes are unavoidable.

Not sure where you live, but around here most country roads are two lane, and they often do have traffic. And I'm pretty sure the other guy meant to type "fog", not "fox". And contrary to your assumptions, I've seen far more potholes in city roads than in the country.

[techbeck]

Not sure where you live, but around here most country roads are two lane, and they often do have traffic. And I'm pretty sure the other guy meant to type "fog", not "fox". And contrary to your assumptions, I've seen far more potholes in city roads than in the country.

Yea, meant fog.  Did not even notice the typo until now.     Though I do see a fox crossing the road every now and then along with wolves, deer, possum, racoon, mice...and a few other animals including turkeys.

[+Warwagon MVC]

[TAZMINATOR]

Potholes exist from lack of care to the road. It costs a fortune to fix things. We had a hole on the highway for 3 years before it got fixed.

If you're paying attention to the road, you shouldn't have an issue dodging pot holes.
I'm just saying, it seems like a MASSIVE security issue. Goes back to the whole "tracking" people and snooping. I wouldn't want this in my car.

You have a smartphone? If so, then they are tracking you anyway...  no matter if you are in the car or not.     An agent is watching on the screen and see the marker is moving... and saying "He's heading eastbound on the interstate." 

You have GPS chip in your phone.

If you don't want anything to track you, then you should stay off the internet and cell networks... that's simple. I mean, no phone, no PC, no GPS, etc.  With that said, you'd be off the grid.

 

 

[techbeck]

Potholes are a real bitch.  In my case, it was on the side of the road/part of the corner was eroded away. Big hole side of road.  Went around a curve at night, pitch black outside and bam!  Both wheels on the right side were like this.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

hmm.. if they did this in New Jersey it would just come back as a standard road map.  Terrible roads.

[remixedcat]

God it would just tell yah to avoid the entire tri state area here..... potholes are the state flower here