Ford will start testing a new crowd-sourced virtual pothole map later this year. Working in real-time, the map will making drivers aware of potholes and how bad they are via their in-car displays and it will also suggesting alternate routes.
Ford engineers at the Research & Innovation Center in Germany are looking into the use of cameras and embedded modems to gather detailed information on potholes and beam it into the cloud, so that other drivers can access it in real time.
“A virtual pothole map could highlight a new pothole the minute it appears and almost immediately warn other drivers that there is a hazard ahead,” explained Uwe Hoffmann, a research engineer for Ford. “Our cars already feature sensors that detect potholes and now we are looking at taking this to the next level.”
