Waymo & Waze to collect pothole data in Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO - Your daily commute is about to get a lot less bumpy.
A new partnership between autonomous driving leader Waymo and the navigation app Waze is turning self-driving sensors into a powerful tool for city maintenance.
Double duty as pothole scouts
What we know:
Waymo’s vehicles are already famous for navigating complex city streets, but now they are pulling double duty as digital scouts. Using advanced onboard software, Waymo vehicles will automatically track every pothole they encounter while driving through cities like San Francisco and San Jose.
This isn't just for internal use—Waymo plans to share this real-time data directly with local Departments of Transportation.
By providing precise locations of road damage, the goal is to help city crews prioritize repairs and get those bone-jarring holes filled faster.
Real-time alerts for humans
While the city works on the repairs, human drivers will get a heads-up. Waymo is integrating its findings with Waze, allowing the app to provide instant warnings about upcoming potholes and crowdsourced maps.
Other cites
Big picture view:
The program isn't limited to the Bay Area. This tech-driven road improvement initiative is also launching in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin and Atlanta.