Maintaining footpaths can be a challenging and time-consuming task at the best of times. Now, thanks to power of artificial intelligence (AI), WSP is helping make the job a little safer and easier.
WSP’s eye-catching spatial fault collection buggies have been trundling up and down the nation’s footpaths for years – surveying cracks, potholes, and trip hazards with pinpoint accuracy. In an innovation for WSP, the buggy fleet has just been equipped with sophisticated AI technology to speed things up.
Using a field of AI known as computer vision, footpath defects are identified and classified from the buggies' on-board video cameras. These defects are automatically registered against GPS locations and stored in a database for further analysis.
Adding computer vision to the buggies’ existing software setup is set to be a gamechanger in efficiency, and health and safety, says WSP asset and information engineer Shahaanan Arulgnanapragasam.
“Instead of the operator having to stop at each footpath defect and manually log it into the buggy’s software system, they can keep rolling along. The AI takes cares of finding, identifying, classifying and rating the severity of the defects.
"This means we can be up to three times more efficient with our field work. It also means operators can better focus their attention on driving and safety. They’re less likely to become fatigued.”
For local authority clients, the AI buggies mean they’ll benefit from a speedier view of their pathway inventory and condition. Ultimately, this helps with scheduling repairs and renewal. Less hazardous footpaths mean active travellers can get from A to B without slipping, tripping, or falling.
Developed over the past several months by WSP’s Asset & Network Performance Team, the new AI tech doesn’t completely replace the human touch. At the end of a survey, buggy operators will still quality check the data and feed it into web dashboards for clients.
Shahaanan says with walking, cycling, and scootering poised to play an important role in decarbonising Aotearoa’s transport system, it’s more important than ever that the country’s tens of thousands of kilometres of footpaths and pathways are kept in tip-top condition.
The newly AI-equipped buggies were showcased at the recent Road Infrastructure Management Forum in Palmerston North, where they received high praise. Already, several local councils have expressed an interest in commissioning them for footpath surveys. It’s not hard to see why!
