The Honda Research Institute is working with the Ohio Department of Transportation in developing its proprietary road condition monitoring system. This new technology helps evaluate road conditions and detect road hazards by utilizing the built-in sensors and cameras from existing Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) driving aids in current Honda and Acura vehicles.
The pilot test program will initially focus on assessing road lane markings. According to Honda, the vehicle uses GPS in gathering road condition information like lane marking conditions, longitude and latitude coordinates, relevant images, and videos.
Real-time, high-accuracy roadway data captured from connected vehicles have the potential to improve the process of identifying, reporting, and more quickly repairing hazardous road conditions,” said Paritosh Kelkar, scientist at Honda Research Institute USA, Inc.
The data are anonymized and sent to a secure platform for closer analysis. In turn, road operators can access the platform to identify the type and severity of the road condition and schedule immediate repairs. “Good pavement markings are important to the drivers of today and the vehicles of tomorrow,” added Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks. “We’re excited to work with Honda to improve the process.”
Honda’s road condition monitoring system classifies lane lines to the left and right of the car using four different color codes. For instance, green and yellow markers indicate good or ideal lane marking conditions. Meanwhile, gray classifications indicate no lane lines, while red lines mean the lane markings require immediate attention.
Connected vehicle technology is nothing new. Audi and Qualcomm Technologies are currently exploring C-V2X or cellular vehicle-to-everything technology in Virginia to protect and enhance the safety of road workers in certain parts of US Route 50.
In recent news, American EV maker Rivian is working on a connected vehicle platform to analyze preventive maintenance issues, deliver firmware patches, and update new features via over-the-air updates (OTA). However, Honda’s road condition monitoring system is among the first we’ve heard that focuses on analyzing road conditions.
The Honda Research Institute plans to expand its new tech to monitor and assess other types of road irregularities in the future – think potholes, subsidence, surface deterioration, cracking, or even missing concrete expansion joints. “Maintaining good road conditions helps keep everyone sharing the road safe,” concludes Kelkar.
