How does Singapore detect potholes on roads? With AI

While this system is currently being piloted in the west, the AI system behind it has been used islandwide since 2023. However, instead of a specialised camera, a smartphone with a high-definition camera is mounted inside an inspection vehicle, and the video footage captured is processed later to identify defects.

However, rectification is slower under this older system, as defects that are spotted will first be presented in an AI-generated report before workers are dispatched on site to rectify the defects.

The AI technology behind both systems can detect potholes with over 90 per cent accuracy.

Before AI was introduced, road defects were spotted manually by inspectors who were driven slowly along roads to allow visual identification of issues.

This labour-intensive approach required a team of 32, including drivers and inspectors. The new AI-based workflow has reduced the team size to just 12.