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Ford Developing Pothole Alert System for Drivers

posted by martyb on Saturday February 18 2017, @04:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the pass-the-word dept.

Phoenix666 writes:

Carmaker Ford has said it is experimenting with technology to detect potholes and warn drivers of their locations.

Cars equipped with cameras could constantly scan roads during journeys, with resulting data on potholes displayed on other drivers' dashboards.

The idea is being tested at the firm's research centre in Aachen, Germany.

One expert said altering routes to avoid potholes might not always be possible.

"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," said Uwe Hoffmann, a research engineer at Ford.

"Our cars already feature sensors that detect potholes and now we are looking at taking this to the next level."

Waze already does that with a helpful, "Watch out, pothole ahead!"

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  • (Score: 1) by moondoctor on Saturday February 18 2017, @04:51PM

    by moondoctor (2963) on Saturday February 18 2017, @04:51PM (#468632)

    People done lost their minds. Couldn't agree more. You'd think that dangerous road conditions (potentially life saving information) would be reported to all cars and agencies capable of receiving it...

  • (Score: 2) by bzipitidoo on Saturday February 18 2017, @08:28PM

    by bzipitidoo (4388) on Saturday February 18 2017, @08:28PM (#468717) Journal

    Why not go all the way? Carry the equivalent of Fix-A-Flat for potholes. Call it Patch-A-Pot. The system scans for potholes, and when one is detected, it fires a glob of tarry substance ahead of the tire, zaps it with a laser to harden it, then the tires run it over to smooth it, and finally another laser behind the tire zaps the patch to turn it rock hard. Later, the driver can receive a reward at the same time the system is refilled.