Sometimes they can make motorists feel like they’re driving on the rocky surface of the moon.
But the pothole crisis has been solved for one council – by spotting them from space.
Blackpool Council says it is the first in the UK to use satellite image capturing to identify craters in the roads in seconds.
The high-tech scheme has so far filled 5,145 potholes and saved the council £1million in repair and manpower costs.
The technology detects the damage before using a colour-coding system to inform engineers what action to take.
Councillor Fred Jackson said: ‘Project Amber and the use of artificial intelligence is another forward thinking and innovative approach that will deliver not only significant savings but will also benefit all road users.
‘Blackpool Council is on a dynamic journey to deliver a Better Blackpool and drive regeneration.
‘More efficient road maintenance technology can play a key part of that ambition.’
Steve Berry, head of local roads at the Department for Transport, said: ‘We hope that Project Amber will act as a showcase of what can be achieved by local authorities working in partnership with the supply chain to achieve lower whole life costs in highway maintenance through the use of surface treatments.’
This article originally appeared on HighwaysIndustry.com
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Wow, this is innovation coupled with thinking outside the box. The results speak for themselves.
This is hands down the best problem solution to the problem of potholes. The entire world should follow suit.
What actual tools were used in the actual physical product development? It would be interesting to find out.
The technology sector is so full of new product ideas. This is just but one of the many.
I am super proud that this happened in the UK. New product development in the UK has come a long way!
Well, this is something new. Solving the problem by looking at potholes from outer space is really cutting edge technology to help make roads safer faster for the motorists who will all use them in the future.
Blackpool council – at first i read it as black hole. I guess it comes close since these potholes in the roads are like craters of the moon. Good things that we have this new satellite technology now. Really amazing how these people find ideas
It is cool to see this as a solution though I think it can do and be used for so much more, On the other hand at least this does not invade privacy he he. Like what we all see in fiction with tech such as these.