AI Pothole & Speed Bump Detection via Phone Sensors (Waze for Cities)
I submitted this exact concept to Google a long time ago, but no action was taken. I am bringing it here today because Waze is the perfect platform to finally make this happen.Waze should implement passive, background telemetry analysis using the smartphone's built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. An AI algorithm can easily recognize the distinct physical patterns of hitting a pothole or crossing a speed bump. To eliminate false positives, the system would require data aggregation: if multiple users register the same vertical impact at the exact same GPS coordinates, the map should automatically generate a hazard annotation.Once these hazards are mapped, Waze should add a toggle in the navigation settings to "Avoid roads with bad quality or speed bumps", functioning exactly like the current "Avoid tolls" option.Furthermore, this data should be automatically shared with local municipalities through the Waze for Cities program. Instead of waiting for citizens to manually report issues, city councils could automatically receive a live heat-map of verified potholes. This would allow cities to locate and repair broken roads much faster, saving money for both governments and drivers.