Honda’s road condition monitoring system
28/02/2022
The Honda Research Institute is conducting a pilot programme in Ohio, USA, to evaluate a system that uses global positioning system (GPS) coordinates and sensors such as cameras to collect real-time road condition information that can be shared with road operators.Honda is collaborating with the Ohio Department of Transportation and plans to start providing road condition data in early 2022, from Honda vehicles used as part of the pilot programme, to help enhance the efficiency of the road maintenance operation in Ohio. The Honda Research Institute is also exploring how connected vehicles can access the anonymised data tto adjust the perception settings of the Honda/Acura advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and, if needed, warn drivers if lane markings are faded or in need of repair.
“Maintaining good road conditions helps keep everyone sharing the road safe,” said Paritosh Kelkar, a scientist at the Honda Research Institute USA Inc and Project Leader for the road condition monitoring system.
“Real-time high-accuracy roadway data captured from connected vehicles has the potential to improve the process of identifying, reporting and more quickly repairing hazardous road conditions.”
When monitoring lane marking conditions, the system visually classifies lane lines to the left and right of the vehicle using four colour codes: green, yellow, grey and red. Green and yellow classifications indicate ideal to good lane marking conditions, respectively. The system displays grey classifications when there are no lane lines and red if the lane markings need repair.
This road condition information, including longitude and latitude coordinates along with relevant images and video clips, is captured by the vehicle, anonymised and then streamed to a secure platform for analysis. Road operators can access this platform to identify the location, type and severity of the road condition and hazard information and obtain a still image and video.
“We regularly inspect our roadways throughout Ohio and act quickly to address any issues, such as faded or damaged pavement markings, that are identified. It’s a labour-intensive process. Good pavement markings are important to the drivers of today and the vehicles of tomorrow,” said Jack Marchbanks, Director of the Ohio Department of Transportation. “We’re excited to work with Honda to improve the process.”
In addition to lane markings, the Honda Research Institute plans to expand the application of the system to monitor other types of road condition. It hopes the system can prove useful in keeping all roads safer for everyone.
