Telematics technology could help councils beat the scourge of the pothole by mapping out where maintenance and repairs are needed using vehicles already travelling on UK roads.

The project uses data collected from Redtail’s telematics devices fitted to vehicles currently in use on UK roads and providing an accurate assessment of the road surface that the vehicles are travelling on

Redtail Telematics has partnered with Synaptiv, a data analytics platform provider spun out of Jaguar Land Rover, to supply accurate readings of road conditions for faster action on potholes.

Already on trial with councils, the project uses data collected from Redtail’s telematics devices fitted to vehicles currently in use on UK roads and providing an accurate assessment of the road surface that the vehicles are travelling on.

This then negates the need for specialist equipment to survey roads once a year or employ inspectors to manually assess damage locations.

The data is collected and analysed in real time, ensuring the Synaptiv solution is able to monitor defects as they appear.

This then allows roads to be repaired more quickly before they pose a risk to drivers or deteriorate and become more costly to repair.

The analytics employed by the system also makes predictions on the rate at which a defect may deteriorate, helping councils prioritise repair schedules.

The Department for Transport recently announced it will allow highway authorities to use new technologies for assessing road surface conditions and the Synaptiv solution has been on trial with councils over the past 12 months.

Matt Lewis, CEO, Synaptiv, explained: “Working with Redtail has allowed us to accelerate the development of our artificial intelligence algorithms capable of transforming data from connected vehicles into an accurate assessment of road health. It is exciting to see our innovation help local authorities start delivering on the promise of the smart city, with data-driven insights dramatically improving public services and enhancing the quality of life for citizens.”