An Intelligent System to Detect, Avoid and Maintain Potholes: A Graph Theoretic Approach

Abstract: In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework where a centralized system, classifies the road based upon the level of damage. The centralized system also identifies the traffic intensity thereby prioritizing the roads that need quick action to be taken upon. Moreover, the system helps the driver to detect the level of damage to the road stretch and route the vehicle from an alternative path to its destination. The system sends a feedback to the concerned authorities for a quick response to the condition of the roads. The system we use comprises a laser sensor and pressure sensors in shock absorbers to detect and quantify the intensity of the pothole, a centralized server which maintains a database of locations of all the potholes which can be accessed by another unit inside the vehicle. A point to point connection device is also installed in vehicles so that, when a vehicle detects a pothole which is not in the database, all the vehicles within a range of 20 meters are warned about the pothole. The system computes a route with least number of potholes which is nearest to the desired destination . If the destination is unknown, then the system will check for potholes in the current road and displays the level of damage. The system is flexible enough that the destination can be added, removed or changed any time during the travel. The best possible route is suggested by the system upon the alteration. We prove that the algorithm returns an efficient path with least number of potholes.