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New pothole detection solution unveiled

23rd October 2015

By: Natasha Odendaal

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

  

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The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed a semi-autonomous solution for early pothole detection to potentially replace the often time-consuming expensive manual road inspection.

Vehicle Repair

Showcasing the Visual Surveying Platform (VSP), CSIR senior research technologist Thegaran Naidoo told delegates at the fifth CSIR conference in Pretoria that the solution was aimed at mitigating the R50-billion-a-year vehicle repair and injury costs resulting from deteriorated roads across South Africa.

Currently piloting within the existing pothole detection workflow of one of the municipalities in Gauteng, the integrated system delivers sensor data collection, visualisation and planning, automatic and manual detection and estimations allowing for a timeous detection and identification of distressed roads and potholes, which can expedite maintenance and repair.

The system comprises a vehicle- mounted mobile sensor equipped with a high-speed camera and a Global Positioning System receiver geotagging and analysing the infrastructure, which is validated by an operator to prevent “false positives” and to enhance the accuracy of the information passed on to municipalities.

Existing inspection programmes are dependent on the manual evaluation of road surfaces, which is a time-intensive task.

Accurate Information

Automated inspections systems, used as part of a broader inspection programme, can improve road maintenance by providing more in-depth and accurate information on surface properties and road distresses, faster than manual methods.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Magazine Managing Editor

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