A group of international corporations announced Tuesday they will be entering into a joint venture to establish a program that will identify where U.S. roads need maintenance through the use of connected cars.
The joint venture between Pacific Consultants Co., Ltd., (PCKK), Oriental Consultants Global Co., Ltd., (OCG), and SoftBank Corp. (SoftBank) is based on a memorandum of understanding signed last year for “mutual cooperation to study technologies and commercialization opportunities related to road infrastructure maintenance using connected cars.”
Connected cars are vehicles with sensors and software on them that are connected to data sharing networks. Using these cars, i-Probe will be able to gather data on road conditions and identify areas that need maintenance.
“Improved road infrastructure maintenance is urgently needed in the United States, and new technologies that contribute to more sophisticated and efficient maintenance are necessary. IPI analyzes ‘big data’ obtained from sensors on connected cars, which are expected to increase in the future substantially. It then maps the data to reveal real-time road conditions by location. IPI will provide this data to public agencies responsible for road maintenance, including state transportation departments and municipalities,” the company said in a press release.
The company said their program is highly anticipated across the United States because it is the first company to be able to give road condition information using connected cars. The company said it has already entered into partnerships with several local governments across the country, which will be able to test the program shortly.