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

  • Next Generation 911, updating the US 911 emergency system
    February 1, 2012
    Continuing developments in telecommunications and public expectation have left the US's legacy, analogue 911 emergency call system trailing. Linda D. Dodge, Public Safety Program Manager for the ITS programme in USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, the sponsor of the Next Generation 911 initiative, writes about efforts towards updating
  • ATT’s iTU analyse moving objects
    September 8, 2016
    Singapore-headquartered ATT Systems Group, which specialises in leveraging intelligent algorithm and advanced traffic technologies, will highlight its iTU system at the ITS World Congress Melbourne.
  • Bitsensing makes modern history in fair Verona
    July 3, 2025
    Shakespeare’s Verona was a place of star-cross’d lovers – today, it’s the traffic which is more of a problem. Euichul Kim at Bitsensing takes up our story…
  • Inrix informs FHWA’s data improvements
    December 19, 2017
    Refinements in the data available from the US Federal Highway Administration will improve road management across America. David Crawford reports. In August 2017, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued the first results from an upgraded version of its National Performance Management Research Data Set (NPMRDS). Developed to identify the locations and times of high congestion affecting traffic flows along America’s 259,000km (161,000 mile) national highway system, this is a key resource for sta