This might sound like a strange question to ask, but: are potholes having a moment right now? Among the highly-touted achievements of recently-elected New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani is the city filling 100,000 potholes so far this year. And NYC’s government is not the only institution looking into ways to address easily-repaired infrastructure; a partnership between autonomous vehicle company Waymo and navigation software makers Waze also has pothole repairs on the (cybernetic) brain.
Essentially, Waymo’s autonomous vehicles will be able to recognize potholes as they make their way around cities, which Waze’s software will then record, enabling local governments to know the locations of potholes in need of repair. Among the services offered by the Google-owned Waze is something called Waze for Cities, which — if their website is any indication — has partners all over the world, including Australia, Brazil and the United States.
“As Waymo’s autonomous fleet travels across San Jose, we appreciate the collaboration with Waymo and Waze as we explore how technology can help identify issues like potholes faster so we can respond more efficiently,” said the city’s mayor, Matt Mahan, in a statement. Waymo plans to roll this service out in five metropolitan areas before expanding it to other cities.
Waymo’s Robotaxis Are Safer Than You Might Think
A recent analysis of accident data has some surprising resultsAs Natalie Neff points out in an article for Autoweek, pothole data will also be available to drivers using Waze, who will presumably be alerted to avoid any potholes on their route. It’s an interesting way of boosting Waymo’s popularity in a given city: presumably, having autonomous vehicles gathering data on unsafe conditions on the roads of a given city is something that could improve relations between the company and municipal governments. Infrastructure matters — and this service could go a long way towards helping maintain it.
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