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AI Predicts Manhole Explosions In New York City

reillymj writes "Every so often, a 300-pound manhole cover blows sky high in Gotham, followed sometimes by a column of flame and smoke. (There are a few hundred 'manhole incidents' per year in the city, not all of them this dramatic.) Researchers from Columbia University applied machine learning algorithms to Con Edison's warren of aging electrical wires and sewage access points around Manhattan. As the system learns where dangerous mixtures of sewer gas and decrepit wiring are likely to come in contact, it makes forecasts about trouble spots, including where the next explosion may occur. The team has just completed rankings for manholes in Brooklyn and the Bronx, and plans to return to Manhattan's grid, armed with the most recent inspection and repair data." The research was published in the July issue of Machine Learning.

4 of 213 comments (clear)

  1. Re:death by manhole cover? by Linker3000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    They should just put them on bungee cords so they shoot into the air and then slam back down in place.

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    AT&ROFLMAO
  2. Re:death by manhole cover? by roman_mir · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh yeah, Coyote ACME style, the only problem is calculating the event at the precise moment when the roadrunner is right above the manhole cover, or so that it gets right underneath it, I still think it is the Coyote who'll get hurt.

  3. Re:death by manhole cover? by Linker3000 · · Score: 5, Funny

    There may be some merit in a hinge, as suggested a bit further down, but how's about also incorporating a large-scale version of the party blower that uncurls with a whistling noise - this would channel the explosive force harmlessly upwards (20ft?) and provide some entertainment at the same time. /yeah, it's Friday!

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    AT&ROFLMAO
  4. Re:death by manhole cover? by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

    >> large-scale version of the party blower

    I think this would have to make a tremendous farting noise.