A new technology has been developed and according to the news, it could help city officials in Boston to save thousands by eliminating the need to send out trucks to inspect hundreds of miles of roads for potholes all across the Boston region.
According to the news, officials in the city of Boston are now trying a new app that enables motorists in the region to report road hazards and holes to the city as soon as they hear that familiar “thud”. How is it possible, you may ask and city officials answer: with the Street Bump app that was developed to use an accelerometer that works as a motion detector that will sense the bump immediately, record the location with the app’s GPS system and transmit the data to a server that will be hosted by Amazon Inc.’s Web services division. The driver’s smartphone can be fired up and placed either inside of a cup holder or on the vehicle’s dashboard.
The app’s system is capable of filtering out things like speed bumps and manhole covers, which will allow the app to tell if the initial motion caused the vehicle to move down into a pothole or over a speed bump. Developers hope that this app will help city officials to keep an eye on potholes since this is a serious issue in Boston where city crews usually patch about 19,000 of them every year.
To prevent accidents and keep the city from spending even more money on looking for these potholes, several local drivers are using this app and data has already begun to be gathered. By using this app, city officials claim, people will be able to help the city by offering their data for free so the authorities can solve public issues more promptly.
Many other cities are starting to become interested in this technology. San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Honolulu and Columbus are already encouraging residents to report road damage and holes to city officials using their smartphones but so far, the Street Bump app is only available for drivers in Boston.
By the end of the summer, according to the news, Boston will be able to release the code for the app so other cities can also promote the use of these apps among their residents.
Hopefully, more people will use this app and cities like Boston can save money and time by being able to solve city issues more efficiently with the help of residents.
If you’re interested in learning more about this new app, click here for the full article.
