Automated Pothole Detection and Mapping for Road Maintenance

Road deterioration leads to safety hazard and, therefore, it includes failure to address potholes in urban infrastructure. This study has developed an autonomous system that incorporates advanced sensing technology towards pothole detection and mapping. The unit comprises of an MPU6050 IMU which determines pothole roughness and a satellite navigation receiver for GPS positioning of potholes. Using IMU sensors results in high-frequent acquisition of accelerometers’ and gyroscopes’ readings that enables detecting, identifying, and classifying the size and severity of a bump upon its occurrence within no time. Thereafter, GPS module provides accurate coordinates for every discovered pothole that can be reliably located within a map interface. It comprises a data-summary section that helps in gathering specific information such as depth, their severity, and also the size of the potholes. These details are elaborate, detailed reports that advice road maintenance bodies about what parts should be repaired first and on which areas to direct their resources. The feature also entails a dynamic map view, which helps to see where the potholes are located on road network. The system correctly detects over 90& of the potholes, and classification accuracy among others exceeds 85&. The combination of real time data collection and mapping substantially enhances safety while achieving higher than average reliability levels for road maintenance. It is an important step toward data guided preventative roads management systems which can save the country resources and improve its road safety and life span of roads.