Skip to main content

Cameras speed pothole detection

High-speed video cameras for ITS applications developed by Sony Image Sensing Solutions have been adopted by system integrator Horus to create a pothole identification system capable of detecting potholes at speeds of up to 130 kph (80 mph). The vision-based pothole detection system integrates six high-speed Sony ITS camera modules, each taking 15 high-resolution frames per second to form a 360-degree imaging system which accurately records data from up to three lanes simultaneously, even when travelling
October 25, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Sony high speed networked ITS cameras
High-speed video cameras for ITS applications developed by 576 Sony 5853 Image Sensing Solutions have been adopted by system integrator 7541 Horus to create a pothole identification system capable of detecting potholes at speeds of up to 130 kph (80 mph).

The vision-based pothole detection system integrates six high-speed Sony ITS camera modules, each taking 15 high-resolution frames per second to form a 360-degree imaging system which accurately records data from up to three lanes simultaneously, even when travelling at high speed. Images are combined with GPS data and processed by an on-board CPU.

Video from the system can then be transferred to the councils' computers and analysed using a bespoke media player with integrated mapping functionality, speeding the detection of potholes and allowing councils to make earlier, less costly repairs.

"The longer you leave a pothole, the more it costs to repair," said Dirk Aalbers of Horus.  "By recording at such high speeds, we can now monitor the main routes on a weekly basis, especially during the winter months when damage happens quickly."

Stéphane Clauss of Sony's Image Sensing Solutions division said: "Like many ITS applications, the Horus pothole detection system requires a high speed sensor, exceptional image clarity, and the ability to work in a range of light levels and that can cope with harsh environmental conditions."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Smart Spanish city trials cell-based traffic management
    November 7, 2013
    David Crawford reports on an urban electronic nervous system. The northern Spanish city of Santander – historically a port - is now an emerging technology showcase attracting global attention as a prototype for a medium-sized smart city of the future. In a move to determine the optimal use of available data, it is creating a de-facto experimental laboratory for sensor and mobile phone-based urban traffic management and environmental monitoring innovations.
  • Umovity's Christian Haas: AI in ITS is 'evolving at speed'
    September 17, 2024
    The intersections between AI and ITS will shape the future of the industry. Christian U. Haas, CEO of Umovity, outlines some challenges – and looks forward to the opportunities
  • Cooperative infrastructure an aid to environmental aims
    February 3, 2012
    Speculate to accumulate Andras Kovacs looks at how the historical focus of cooperative infrastructure on safety can be oriented to aid emerging environmental aims
  • New CCD camera from Lumenera
    March 26, 2014
    The Lt365R USB 3.0 CCD camera from Lumenera runs at 53fps at full resolution or 66fps at an HDTV resolution of 1,920 x 1,088. It takes advantage of Lumenera’s memory buffer technology which ensures that frames are not lost while running the camera at the sensor’s maximum output. Lumenera states that the Lt365R runs at twice the speed of other USB 3.0 cameras on this image sensor.