Singapore Harnesses AI To Inspect Road Infrastructure
AI is revolutionizing the finding of defects and hazards in the roadside infrastructure in Singapore, according to JTC Corporation (JTC), a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Where it once took at least a few days to locate and report such issues in the past, a new AI-powered solution now takes just over an hour to spot and report potholes and other issues at one-north. One-north is an industrial estate managed by JTC and houses the regional headquarters of highly-recognizable technology firms such as Ubisoft, Grab, and Razer.
AI goes on the road
The solution is the result of a collaboration between JTC and local start-up Vebits AI, which took part in an Innovation Challenge in 2020 organized by JTC.
One of two start-ups awarded to develop and commercialize its proposal, it is understood that the solution was initially developed and trialed in industrial estates in western Singapore before being deployed at one-north in November 2022.
Traditionally, a team of two estate inspectors at a time is required to perform inspections manually – one to drive and another to look out for and verify defects that must be addressed. Moreover, inspections can only be done during off-peak hours when vehicular traffic is lighter.
The new AI solution revolves around a smartphone with a high-definition mounted on a vehicle driven at a normal speed. The footage captured is uploaded and processed by an AI system hosted on a backend server, which uses machine learning to automatically identify defects, grade their severity, and highlight those in need of repair.
The solution can automatically detect more than 10 common estate defects, including those normally missed out by the inspectors such as slanted lamp posts, damaged traffic signs and grille covers, broken manholes, and water ponding.
“The new solution developed raises the bar on estate inspections – leading to safer, more enjoyable estates for our customers and partners. A main consideration for the drive-through smart inspection system was that it had to be cost-effective and easy to use, enabling the facilities management sector to seamlessly adopt smart facility management to achieve more efficient operations and a safer working environment, while upskilling their workforce and [to] overcome manpower challenges,” said Tan Chee Kiat, group director of engineering at JTC.
His team is looking to implement the solution at other industrial estates wherever feasible, Tan says.
Known for its efficiency and cleanliness, Singapore nonetheless faces a manpower crunch that pose challenges to growth in the longer term. Technology can serve to alleviate the pressure on manpower, by allowing more to be done with less, or doing existing tasks much more quickly.
Paul Mah is the editor of DSAITrends. A former system administrator, programmer, and IT lecturer, he enjoys writing both code and prose. You can reach him at [email protected].
Image credit: iStockphoto/Peera_Sathawirawong
