RoadBotics' AI Could Change the Way Cities Maintain Roads

When temperatures drop, the expansion and contraction of water that seeps into cracks in asphalt can create giant tire-chompers. But these problem spots are too often the final result of damage that has been brewing for a while. "There are things you can do 5 or even 10 years before that happens to push the lifespan of a road," says Benjamin Schmidt, CTO of RoadBotics in Pittsburgh. RoadBotics is using state-of-the-art computer-vision techniques to help local governments better manage roads. The company's machine-learning algorithms process images of the road collected via smartphone.