by László Tizedes, András Máté Szabó, and Anita Keszler (HUN-REN SZTAKI)

Automated road defect detection is a key component in the development and maintenance of smart cities, leading to safer, more efficient and sustainable urban environments. An artificial intelligence-based system capable of detecting potholes, speed bumps and manhole covers, among other road hazards, was developed as a result of the cooperation between D3 Seeron startup company and HUN-REN SZTAKI, and was supported by ESA Spark Funding. The proposed system combines the low computational demands of vision-based object detection with the precise distance measurement of LiDAR technology.