Detroit to Use RoadBotics on its 2600-mile Road Network

On Monday, December 3, RoadBotics announced that they will use their machine-learning technology to assess the City of Detroit’s entire 2,600 centerline mile road network. With support from PlanetM, RoadBotics will provide Detroit officials with its standard AI pavement assessment as well as a brand new AI Maintenance (AIM) tool for unsealed cracks.

Detroit will be the first city to pilot the AIM tool, which will assist Detroit public works officials in taking a preventative approach to road maintenance. With RoadBotics’ tools, Detroit officials will have the data required to target road maintenance efforts on planning and cost-saving road treatments that can dramatically extend the life of pavements and improve quality for residents.

“The City is thrilled to be working with RoadBotics on this project. This partnership and pilot will provide us with data and insights about our road conditions that will help our engineers determine where to objectively allocate our resources and maximize investment in maintaining our residential streets in the best condition. We will use this data to expand our road asset database as part of our broader data-driven asset management strategy for the City’s Right of Way,” says Oladayo Akinyemi, Deputy Director at Department of Public Works at the City of Detroit.

Co-founder and CEO, Mark DeSantis comments, “Detroit is the iconic American city of the automobile, which means that it’s also the epicenter for American road management. This is why it is so exciting that the City of Detroit will adopt our AI pavement inspection technology to reshape how they manage and maintain the City’s entire road network. With 90+ customers now adopting our technology in the US, we are seeing the positive wave of impact that AI is playing in helping governments of all sizes manage the roads and infrastructure that millions of people use every day.”

The future of infrastructure management of large cities like Detroit relies on possessing reliable, high-quality data. Akinyemi continues, “As outlined in the City’s Transportation Strategic Plan, detailed road condition data is one of several criteria that we will use to build a multi-year pavement management and investment strategy along with road usage and traffic safety data; it is our hope that the data from this project will provide crucial information for deploying the investment strategy.”

The City of Detroit will be the first tier 1 city in the US to use RoadBotics’ AI assessment technology thanks to the support of PlanetM, which attracts mobility innovation startups to help solve Michigan mobility challenges such as pavement management.

DeSantis reflects, “It is outstanding that Detroit is committed to being at the forefront of using cutting-edge AI to fundamentally reshape how they ensure safe and high-quality roads for all people. Our hope is that their example of leadership catalyzes more cities across the U.S. to adopt a data-driven approach to pavement management via our solution.”

Photo source: Barbara Eckstein on Flickr under CC 2.0 (no changes made.)

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