The Future Honda Pilot Could Help Fix Potholes

Drivers have already come to expect incredible innovations from vehicles like the Honda Pilot which is an excellent family vehicle.

While it’s no surprise when Honda loads its most popular SUV with updated safety tech or infotainment features, the next step for Honda might just blow you away.

Partnering With The Buckeye State

The Honda Research Institute is working with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to start testing a new program that could actually lead to improving public roadways. The program uses technology that collects data about potholes, missing lane markings, and more via GPS. This data is then shared with road operators.

ODOT is looking to run a test program starting in 2022. If this works, the program could spread across the country. The bigger picture of this test program is to see how connected vehicles can view the road to help adjust Honda’s Advanced Driver Assistance Programs in real-time. This could help how this system perceives the road and could even help warn drivers when the road is in poor condition.

How Does It Work?

This new technology will use a lane-tracking system that looks to the left and right of the vehicle. To help organize the data, areas will be classified by four-color codes:

• Green: ideal lane conditions for safe and efficient driving
• Yellow: lane conditions are still good, but there may be a few issues
• Grey: areas of the road are missing lane lines or other important markings
• Red: lane markings are in desperate need of repair

Information collected about the road will be collected and sent to the appropriate department. This data will include things like longitude & latitude, relevant images, video clips, and more. The data will also be kept anonymous and stored in a secure database to be analyzed.

Making Roads Better

ODOT is already in the business of inspecting roadways throughout the state to assess issues. Of course, there are lots of roads in Ohio, so tracking every piece of pavement is no easy task. By essentially crowd-sourcing the process of data collection through vehicles like the Honda Pilot, OTOT will have a much easier time seeing where roads need help.

Honda gets the benefit of not only helping keep Ohio’s road safe, but it also gets to test technology that will ultimately improve its driver safety assistance system. What’s especially exciting is that Honda’s research team plans to expand this system to monitor for other types of road conditions.