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Jaguar Land Rover Makes System For Mapping Potholes For Autonomous Vehicles
An anonymous reader writes: Jaguar Land Rover is developing a system that identifies potholes and other obstructions in the road and shares them via the cloud with highway authorities, and, potentially, other drivers with access to the report network. The project's research director Dr. Mike Bell says that such a network could help autonomous vehicles avoid potholes without crossing lanes or endangering other drivers. The team is also working on a stereo-camera system capable of identifying possible obstructions in the road. Dr. Bell says "there is a huge opportunity to turn the information from these vehicle sensors into 'big data' and share it for the benefit of other road users. This could help prevent billions of pounds of vehicle damage and make road repairs more effective."
Yes, at least. The vehicle should have many cameras. It would be easier to avoid any object that isn't flat.
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Some of the potholes I know of have tenure.
Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
I could see an autonomous pothole repair robot/vehicle being jacked in to this network, and BAM, a fully automated repair process without the need for human intervention. If the method of repair was good for the long term, it could be the first physical world example of a mechanized economy of plenty--making existing roads free.
Now we just need automated road builders, then we can just get rid of government altogether (FINALLY! Someone/thing to build the roads!).
its 2015. we have autonomous vehicles and spacecraft that land on asteroids. we even have a cure for chicken pox, battery powered cars, and all the worlds knowledge in a single handheld device we all keep in our pockets or purses. So, based on TFA, when did it become a standard requirement to include 'the cloud' and a tiny condescending diagram of a raincloud into every single announcement of a new product
Good people go to bed earlier.
The northeastern United States has some of the worst potholes in the country, which are largely the result of heavy road wear from traffic combined with cold winters that either create or expand cracks in the pavement. The problem is that it gets so cold here in the winter that road crews are unable to apply asphalt to the road and have to use this "cold pack" stuff that serves as a temporary fix until it gets warm enough to spread asphalt. The "cold pack" is prone to erosion and often wears out multiple times during the winter.
I could see the road departments here using these sensors to figure out where the cold pack is eroding and fix it before it degrades completely.
I'd rather see the potholes get fixed than autonomous cars constantly swerving all over the road to avoid them.
It seems like the 4x4 Range Rovers might have a 'off-road' setting where they hit the pothole on purpose to give their occupants that authentic off road feel. Around here you see lots of Range Rovers that have never seen anything more challenging than the ramp up into the parking garage at the mall while their owners shop for be-dazzeled jeans with the knees pre-ripped at the the factory. Of course these same cars are outfitted with snorkels, light guards, and rhino bars up front. All chromed and shiny.
I thought major cities had pothole databases just bursting at the seams with data entries, it's just that it was set to write-only.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
will this increase the road mafia profits and politician kick-backs? We build the worst roads in the US, bad from day 1.
Autonomous vehicles will have terribly expensive tire, rim, and suspension repair work in my state every year. Michigan has the worst roads in the nation, and avoiding potholes and subsequent vehicle damage requires illegal driving behavior. Examples that I can think of off hand include driving the wrong way on a two-lane road over a double yellow line, driving halfway in one lane and halfway in another lane, deliberately crossing onto paved shoulders, high-speed swerving maneuvers, and other behaviors that autonomous vehicles will probably not be programmed to do. Expect to pay $1,000-$2,000 per year for your autonomous vehicle, at least if you own one here.
Worse than money, though, is bad accidents. Potholes in Michigan cost the average person about $500/year with defensive driving, but potholes were so bad one year on a road I drove every day that they caused a wheel to fall off. Only because I had just turned off onto a less-used road was I able to stop safely.
I'd be quite upset if my autonomous vehicle was trying to be legal, and as a result caused a total and possibly risked my life.
Just saying, It would kinda suck if I got caught by the cops because they found the body, then looked for any automated road pothole reports from any vehicles passing by in about the time the body would have been dumped and "BAMB!" busted by your own car!!!! that would just like totally suck man!!!
i want a 100 dollar per pothole data collection and reporting fee. Got to pay for the car somehow right?
Jack of all trades,master of none
I assume it would also record all the people I run over while driving drunk in my Land Rover.
Land Rover used to be an 'off-road; vehicle?
is that like the internet?
An easy tweak on the idea can get the vehicle to capture images from all sides, not only potholes
Capturing images from all sides - something akin to Google Streetview - would enable the authority the crucial EYE to spy on everyone, everywhere, 24/7/365
Of course they will tell us they do it 'for the children', to 'catch pedophiles', to 'identify criminals', to 'keep the neighborhood safe', et cetera ...
I think I see a Cessna circling over your house.
Software that uploads to a network which every car will rely on? I can't wait to see this abused. Just upload fake potholes and I can direct traffic as I want!
Pot holes are a lot less dynamic (at least where I come from) and, as noted already, shouldn't require an auto sensor to reasonably measure.
On top of sharing the location with other vehicles.
#1 report the hole to the local municipality
#2 log the fact #1 has taken place to a database
#3 check database for previous report
#4 if hole was logged > 2 weeks ago - book realignment with garage and bill to municipality
To operate autonomous vehicles in Pennsylvania.
Such a system that reports potholes so autonomous vehicles could adjust track accordingly could also be used to "load balance" the lane itself ensuring tires run over each part of the surface of the road equitably. In addition to that, when there are road repairs or lane painting performed this kind of system could also be used to roll over or avoid parts of the road until suitable. Potentially, this could significantly increase the life of roads if all vehicles were autonomous and networked with big data.
If they care, they know where the potholes are, because they have people who drive around working on roads all the time. They know where that stuff is. The trick is getting anyone to give a crap. Painting dicks on them or planting flowers in them seems to be what works.
The cars are going to look at the potholes both to dodge them, and to adjust their active suspensions. The new S-Class does the latter already, if you spend the big bucks on not just the car but also the proper package.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
will have a tremendous success in mother-Russia and their *cough* roads *cough*.
:-)
And who was whining about Michigan above, eh?!
In more modern countries, where people pay taxes, there are no potholes, because you can sue the Administration for damages, if you hit one.
I also live in San Diego: I'm pretty sure it's a parasite which feeds on Federal Highway Dollars. It normally only afflicts populations in the less fortunate/"weather-challenged" fly-over states. Our state's GDP is subsidizing their unfortunate choice of residence so that the farmers have someone to talk to.
You are poorly-informed.
Potholes on roads in and out of NYC in a bad winter can get *incredibly* bad. That's 800,000+ vehicles a day, many of them *very* high-end, with tires bouncing off jagged holes repeatedly at significant speeds.
This despite the fact that NYC has probably the most extensive use of mass transit in the nation.
What good are sensors that report this?
We have a pair of potholes here on an on-ramp that takes about 2 months to become holes every time they fix them. They look like twi round buttons, with mous^h car-over effect. When freshly fixed they stick out a bit. Then the buttons slowly move into pressed state ;)
Theres a lot of crumbled asphalt accumulating in the steel structure below those holes that the asphalt street is built on. They take about a month or two to fix it up and then it starts "pressing the buttons" again.
You can calibrate the calendar on this, yet I have to avoid these for a month or so every couple months by using the other lane although that lane will exit and I have to go back over again.
Your lane is wider than your car. If you know the precise location of a pothole you can frequently drive around it in the right driving conditions, either by switching lanes or by moving within your lane.
A computer that knows the precise location is substantially more likely to be able to do that than a human driver, resulting in a lot less wear on your vehicle and slower expansion of the pothole.
“I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.”
Just tell the cars there are road barriers, and voila! Instant private drive.....