Detroit tests cloud-enabled pavement monitoring

GettyImages/Feifei Cui-Paoluzzo

 

Connecting state and local government leaders

In-vehicle sensors collect and analyze data and send it to the cloud where the city can access it as a GIS layer to see road surface ratings.

In Detroit, about 20 city-owned Ford F-150 and F-250 trucks are testing a cloud-based solution that automatically monitors road pavement quality in real time.

The pilot involved the installation of Tactile Mobility’s Tactile Software Processor, which uses signal processing, microphysical experiments and machine learning to analyze data it collects from sensors inside the vehicle, such as tire grip estimation, wheel speed and wheel angle.  With that data collected as the vehicles drive through the city, the technology calculates a rating based on the Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) system that evaluates road conditions.

In Detroit, the data goes from the vehicles to the Tactile Cloud. The city’s geographic information system automatically pulls it in as a map layer to show in real time where potholes or cracks exist. By comparison, PASER tests are typically done by survey vehicles once or twice a year and produce highly accurate quality scores.

Detroit “saw about an 85% match to the PASER rating that they received from the survey vehicles, and the PASER score that we provide,” said Ido Tsalka, head of business development at Tactile Mobility. More frequent monitoring, even with lower accuracy, still results in better roads, he added, noting that cities can’t fix potholes they don’t know about.

Cost savings is another benefit: Cities can catch and patch an alligator crack, or stress fissure in asphalt, at a much lower cost than waiting for it to be discovered and having to resurface the road as a result.

In addition to pavement rating and distress mapping, the processor can monitor for slippery conditions. For instance, another town in Michigan is testing the technology to monitor road slickness, particularly in the winter.

“If we identify a specific area where we see a lot of cars passing by with … low friction, we can identify that, raise a red flag," Tsalka said. With that information, authorities can then salt the roads to increase safety.

Tactile Mobility also offers a version of the processor that is embedded into a vehicle’s electronic control unit (ECU) and collects about 20 signals. “The software receives signals from existing sensors, physical sensors in the vehicle – sensors which are available in any car,” Tsalka said. “We’re calculating inside the vehicle, and we’re generating what we call virtual sensors. The virtual sensors are actually insights, which … can be around vehicle dynamics like grip estimation, they can estimate the weight of the vehicle, they can provide insights about the driving style.”

It’s easy to add sensors once the processor is embedded in an ECU, he said, because it requires calibration, not necessarily software updates.

The company has revenue-share agreements with car manufacturers that give Tactile Mobility license to monetize data from the vehicles. For instance, the technology comes in new BMWs so when someone buys a car, they consent to uploading the data – a process that complies with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation for privacy and security. The data goes to BMW’s cloud, which shares it with the Tactile Cloud, just as Ford is doing in Detroit’s pilot. Tactile does not have such an agreement with an American manufacturer yet.

“The data monetization has a lot of potential segments,” Tsalka said. “It can go to tire companies, so we also have virtual sensors that provide tire health insights…. It can go to insurance companies and it can go to road authorities and municipalities.”

As a result, cities would benefit from data from any vehicle equipped with the technology, not just government-owned ones.

In addition to working on pilots, proofs of concept and negotiations with more municipalities and car makers, the company plans to create a system that cities can self-onboard. “You’ll go online, you will circle the polygon of your municipality, we’ll provide you with … distress mapping, the pavement rating [and/or] the slipperiness” detection, Tsalka said. “We estimate that with one or two [car makers], we will be able to, in a time frame of probably two years, cover the majority of Europe and the U.S.”

This article was changed Jan. 22 to clarify that the data from vehicles goes directly to the Tactile Cloud, not via Ford's cloud as was originally stated.

Stephanie Kanowitz is a freelance writer based in northern Virginia. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.