Pothole detection for councils
Pothole detection system that finds them before residents do
A camera on your waste trucks and utes finds potholes on every trip. AI pothole detection runs in the vehicle, and each pothole is graded, GPS-tagged and photographed, ready for a work order.
- Every trip
- Survey frequency
- In-vehicle
- Where detection runs
- Yours
- Data ownership
- Type
- Pothole
- Severity
- Critical
- GPS
- -16.93712, 145.74890
What you get
Pothole detection software that ends in a repair
Not footage to watch: a list of potholes, located, graded and ready for a crew.
Every pothole GPS-tagged
Location, severity and a photo. Repeat sightings merge into one record.
Graded for severity
One consistent scale with a confidence score, so crews go to the worst first.
Tracked as it grows
Each pass updates the record, from the first sighting to the repair.
Straight to work orders
Confirmed potholes arrive in your asset system, ready to schedule.
Compared with waiting for reports
Stop waiting for complaints
Vehicle pothole detection sees a pothole on the next trip past, whether or not anyone reports it.
- Who does the looking
-
Done by hand today
An inspector drives out and assesses roads by eye, as often as the roster allows.
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Automated with BlackRoad
Fleet vehicles detect and grade defects as they drive. Nothing for the driver to do.
- How much of the network is seen
-
Done by hand today
Whatever the schedule reaches. The rest is only as current as its last visit.
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Automated with BlackRoad
Every road your fleet drives, every time it drives it.
- Whether assessments agree
-
Done by hand today
Severity is a judgement call, and two inspectors can grade the same defect differently.
-
Automated with BlackRoad
One model grades every defect on the same scale, with a confidence score.
- Time to a work order
-
Done by hand today
Notes and photos are written up and keyed in before anyone can act.
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Automated with BlackRoad
A located, graded defect lands in your asset system with no transcribing.
More than potholes
Catch the crack before it becomes a pothole
The same camera grades cracking, rutting and edge breaks, so you can seal a crack instead of filling a hole.
- Potholes
- Alligator cracking
- Longitudinal cracking
- Transverse cracking
- Rutting
- Ravelling & fretting
- Edge deterioration
- Patch & utility cut failure
- Faded road markings
- Damaged & obscured signage
- Ironwork & manhole defects
- Standing water & drainage
- Debris & obstructions
- Vegetation encroachment
Reporting
Automated condition reporting
Groundtruth turns detection data into a formatted PDF report for any reporting period, ready for councillors, auditors and internal review, with no manual data preparation.
- Executive summary and network coverage
- Open defects by severity, type and workflow status
- Photographic record of the highest-priority defects
- Response times and compliance
- Defect locations by road
- Methodology and data provenance
Questions
What councils ask before a pilot
Can we run a pilot before committing?
Yes, and we would encourage it. A standard pilot runs three months on a defined part of your road network, measured from the day it goes live rather than the day you order, with a fixed price and no obligation to continue.
What does it cost?
Pricing is per fitted vehicle per year, inclusive of hardware, connectivity, processing, and support.
Which vehicles should we fit it to?
Whichever ones already cover your road network regularly. Waste collection trucks are usually the best single choice because they systematically cover residential streets on a known cycle. Street sweepers, works utes, inspection vehicles, parking enforcement vehicles and buses all work well. You do not need dedicated survey vehicles or dedicated drivers.
How do you handle privacy law and filming in public?
Faces and number plates are found and permanently blurred by the unit in the vehicle before any footage is saved. Identifiable imagery never leaves the vehicle and is never transmitted or retained.
More on accuracy, data and procurement in the full FAQ.
See pothole detection on your own roads
Book a demo to see it on your roads, then run a fixed-price three-month pilot with no obligation to continue.
Not ready to talk? Email [email protected] and ask anything.