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Dashcam maps road damage
After a storm, it can take days for county officials to map out the full scope of damage, but a new tool from researchers at USF could help. FOX 13's Briona Arradondo reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A University of South Florida engineering professor and affiliate faculty member with the Center for Urban Transportation is testing a new artificial intelligence dashcam to assist post-storm recovery efforts.
USF AI road inspection
What we know:
The prototype automatically inspects roadways for potholes, flooding, fallen trees and damaged signs.
Hao Zhou developed the system after learning that workers with the Florida Department of Transportation and Sarasota County lacked enough staff to assess damage following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The software syncs with any vehicle built in 2015 or newer, cutting post-storm damage inspection times from up to three days down to six to eight hours.
Sarasota County damage assessment
What we don't know:
Officials have not yet confirmed when state or local transportation fleets will officially integrate the software full-time into their operations. It also remains unclear how many other Florida counties will adopt the open-source software once public testing wraps up later this fall.
Storm assessment efficiency
Why you should care:
Faster damage reports allow local crews to deploy repair resources much quicker after major hurricanes strike. The automated technology acts as extra eyes for drivers, reducing worker fatigue and keeping road crews safe from hidden hazards like deep floodwaters.
Open source disaster tech
What's next:
Researchers are seeking heavy rainstorms to perform additional road testing on the fly. Zhou plans to wrap up testing this fall before pitching the technology to FDOT and Sarasota County and releasing it as open-source software for other county fleets to use.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo, who interviewed USF professor Hao Zhou and reviewed the AI dashcam prototype in action.