Artificial intelligence-powered tech that has the ability to alert road managers to defects before they turn into potholes has had a promising debut, spotting 300 problems on Victorian bitumen in just one month. The Roughsense system can be fitted to vehicles and detect crumbling surfaces in real time, and has operated on roadside assistance patrol vans.

Developed by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in partnership with the RACV, the tech uses AI, GPS tracking, vehicle movement data and video capture to identify existing and potential potholes while roadside assistance drivers go about their normal business.

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It operated from August 21 to October 21 this year across approximately 1000km of roads on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, the state worst-hit by pothole problems, and recorded the 300 defects by identifying subtle changes in road surfaces and early warning signs like running and cracking before motorists can feel or see them.

The trial of the system, which also maps the exact location and size of the defects, will continue until January next year, with the next phase involving RMIT engineers fitting the system to larger vehicle fleets to increase the amount of road covered and improve Roughsense’s accuracy and reliability.

The development comes as RACV head of public policy James Williams revealed the organisation had been hit with 30,000 callouts for tyre punctures in the last three months as potholes continue to be a huge source of anger for Victorian motorists.

Those motorists recently learned that the state government is breaking its promise to fix 500,000 potholes on Victorian roads by next January, following warnings from contractors that the target cannot be met. 

A motorcyclist died on the Western Highway on September 13 after reportedly losing control due to a pothole near Trawalla. Peter Mason, 71, died at the scene, and thousands of angry motorcycle riders staged a protest outside Victoria’s Parliament House on October 4, with rain in the lead-up to the rally resulting in more potholes in the state.