How Waymo is helping cities locate potholes
What's the story
Waymo, the self-driving car division of Google parent company Alphabet, is lending a hand to cities in their battle against potholes. Municipal officials from several cities where Waymo operates have approached the robotaxi operator for assistance in locating these road hazards. The good news is that Waymo has the data and is now launching a pilot program with Google's Waze to share it with city officials.
Initiative details
Data collection started as a way to protect passengers
The pilot program is part of Waymo's broader effort to build positive relationships with cities. "We realized, hey, once we're at scale, we can actually share this data with cities," said Arielle Fleisher, Waymo's policy development and research manager. The company uses its perception hardware, including cameras and radar as well as accelerometers and the vehicle's physical feedback system to log every pothole its vehicles encounter.
Data collection
Waymo's vehicles log every bump they encounter
Waymo's sensors detect physical changes to the road surface, like tilt and movement when the vehicle encounters irregularities. This automated process was initially designed to help vehicles slow down and avoid damaging passengers. However, the company later realized it could also provide valuable data for cities. Under the new pilot program, this information will be made available to city departments of transportation through a free-to-use Waze for Cities platform.
Platform benefits
Waze for Cities platform provides real-time traffic data
The Waze for Cities platform provides access to real-time, user-generated traffic data that officials can use to make important decisions, such as pothole repair. It also allows Waze users to validate pothole locations through their own observations, decreasing the chances of false positives. Currently, many cities rely on a patchwork of non-emergency 311 reports and manual inspections to address their pothole problems.
Expansion plans
Pilot program launched in several US cities
Waymo is launching the pilot program in San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta. The company has already helped Atlanta identify around 500 potholes. Fleisher said Waymo would be open to expanding the project based on further feedback from officials about other street conditions or safety data that might be valuable.