Google Patent Would Collect Pothole Data Using A Car's GPS
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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Google is attacking the pothole problem of North Texas streets head on. The advertising powerhouse wants to use a car's GPS navigation system to detect potholes on a road and use that information to plot a more comfortable route to a destination.
Google has even filed patent for technology, hoping to map out poor roads, steering drivers clear of damaging dips, in addition to providing traffic warnings.
The technology is an answer for drivers like James Chogugdza who didn't even see a massive pothole coming before it damaged his car this year.
"I was actually talking with my mom on the phone and then out of nowhere, the tire just explodes." said Chogugudza.
The impact was so rough to his Mustang that it chipped his rim and sliced open his tire. Hard to believe a pothole could cause such extensive damage, but it did.
"They're a pain really... if we could fix them, great. But going through them every day, kind of takes a toll on your car," said Chogugudza.
University of Texas at Arlington professor of computer science & engineering Gautam Das said sensors in a car would trigger at each violent bump. That data would then be sent to satellites -- then back to Google's operating system and eventually to the map on a driver's GPS.
"Just like the GPS is telling the world where you exist, a bump is telling you a lot less. Just that you went up and down," said Professer Das. "I think it's going to be very accurate and I think it's going to be very cheap."
The app is a cheaper solution for local governments fixing the roads and for drivers like Chogugudza who wasn't so fortunate.
"It could save me a lot of money in the long run. Not trying to buy new tires, it's really expensive," he said.
Google sent CBS11 news the following statement:
"We hold patents on a variety of ideas - some of those ideas later mature into real products or services, some don't. Prospective product announcements should not necessarily be inferred from our patents."
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