Honda and Mercedes-Benz declare war on potholes – new LiDAR and suspension tricks aim to soften the blow of government failures

• Honda reveals results of pothole-detecting pilot study
• Project uses existing car camera and LiDAR tech
• Sharing road data could save governments millions of dollars a year

It doesn’t matter where you live, potholes and crumbling driving surfaces have the ability to ruin any road trip or journey. With results ranging from a bumpy ride and damaged suspension components to a full-blown accident, potholes are a major headache for motorists, cyclists and local governments alike. Fortunately, both Honda and Mercedes-Benz are attempting to tackle the problem in two different ways.

Honda recently partnered with DriveOhio, the smart mobility hub of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), on a pilot project that it hopes could help speed up road repairs by harnessing the power of real-time, vehicle-generated data that can detect and report road deficiencies.

The project, which also partnered with the University of Cincinnati, was launched to assess the feasibility of an automated road condition management and reporting system, using Honda test vehicles equipped with advanced vision and LiDAR sensors.

These vehicles then monitored approximately 3,000 miles of roads in central and southeastern Ohio, scanning the road surface for worn or obstructed road signs, damaged guardrails and barriers, insufficient road markings and pothole development, including size and location.

One of the technology partners was i-Probe Inc., which currently provides sensor technology to OEMs and vehicle manufacturers. Daisuke Oshima, president and CEO of the company, explained that while production vehicle sensors are designed primarily for driving and safety, their ability to “collect data continuously during daily driving creates unique value at scale”.

During the pilot program, the plethora of data was processed using Edge AI models, transmitted to a Honda cloud platform for analysis, and integrated into Parsons iNET Asset Guardian system, which could then streamline workflows to “enhance efficiencies across field maintenance operations”.

According to Honda and DriveOhio, the results showed that the technology proved a 99% accuracy rate for damaged or obstructed signs, 93% accuracy for damaged guardrails and 89% average accuracy for potholes.

What's more, the project proved that by harnessing existing sensor technology and sharing data with local governing bodies, automated road condition detection has the potential to save Ohio’s Department of Transportation over $4.5 million annually through a reduced reliance on manual inspection time, optimized maintenance schedules and the prevention of costly deferred repairs through proactive inspection.

These savings could then be reinvested back into fixing the issues in a streamlined and efficient way, which is great news for pothole haters the world over.

Mercedes-Benz takes a more proactive approach

The German marque recently gave its range-topping S-Class arguably one of the most extensive mid-life refreshes to date, plying the luxe limo with new styling features and technology — an example of which aims to banish the pain of potholes.

All new S-Class models will come fitted with ‘Airmatic’ air suspension, as well as an optional E-Active Body Control system. When the two combine, the vehicle constantly sends information on the road surface below to the Mercedes Intelligent Cloud.

It can differentiate between speed bumps or shorter, sharper potholes. Once detected, it feeds this info to other Mercedes‑Benz vehicles using Car-to-X technology, so the suspension can automatically adjust to reduce the impact of a bump or pothole the next time the vehicle travels the route.

Of course, it’s not the permanent solution that Honda has been aiming for, but it certainly results in a smoother and more comfortable drive for anyone who can afford to travel by S-Class on a daily basis.

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