Durham Region wins Smart 50 Award for optimizing road maintenance using artificial intelligence

Whitby, Ontario – For the second year in a row, Durham Region was presented with a Smart 50 Award for Mobility. This year, the Region, in partnership with technology provider Visual Defence, has won the award for using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to optimize road maintenance.

The Region identified an opportunity to improve its road patrol program and pothole patching work program through partnering with the technology provider Visual Defence on the development and use of its AI solution. 

The solution, an app called ROVER, is installed on a smartphone that is mounted to the windshield of the Region’s road patrol vehicle and uses the camera of the smartphone to automatically detect, identify and capture images of potholes using AI, while simultaneously uploading the incident information to a cloud server. The technology is both efficient and safe as it scans the roads for deficiencies. ROVER then analyzes and processes the images captured by the camera and the incident data is logged so sorting through the data is quick and efficient by Regional staff. 

Durham is the first regional municipality to implement ROVER AI for pothole detection in Canada. This project is one of the many examples that demonstrates the Region is implementing its Intelligent Communities Plan, and leading the way in innovation.

Quotes:

“We saw an opportunity in improving the road patrol program and pothole patching work program through partnering with technology provider Visual Defence, on the development and use of its AI solution. As a result, our work has been greatly simplified, our roads are better maintained and citizen complaints have greatly dropped.” 

-        Eric Lamain, Manager, Maintenance Operations & Fleet Services

“This Smart 50 Award demonstrates Durham Region’s commitment to leading the way in technology and innovation. As Durham’s population continues to grow, our services are also growing. Durham is an innovative region and open to piloting new technology that will improve our service delivery.”

-        Susan Siopis, Commissioner of Works

Quick facts: 

The following outcomes were achieved for Durham Region:

• Improved productivity: The technology has helped to identify 6,250 potholes over 1.5 years on the region's roads, resulting in a significant improvement in pothole reporting.
• The number of calls received from members of the public has decreased significantly.
• Improved efficiency in the pothole repair program.
• Better compliance with Ontario Minimum Maintenance Standard: By having access to records of pothole locations and being able to prioritize them effectively, potholes can be repaired in compliance with provincial standards with digital records.
• Reduced risk exposure: By using the platform to identify priority incidents and respond to them, the Region reduces its exposure to claims.
• Digitization of data: Having the data available in a digital format makes it easy to measure the number of potholes precisely and accurately on regional roads.

The Smart 50 Awards, in partnership with Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation and US Ignite, annually recognize global smart cities projects by honouring the 50 most innovative and influential projects. To learn more about the Smart 50 Awards, visit Spring.SmartCitiesConnect.org/Smart50Awards.

For more information on Durham Region’s road and traffic safety innovations and technology, visit durham.ca/Traffic.

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For media requests, please contact CorporateCommunications@durham.ca.