AI Becomes Savior in Road Inspections, Detects Cracks and Potholes

Jul 15, 2024 | News On Japan

TOKYO - Aging transportation infrastructure, such as roads and bridges built during Japan's period of rapid economic growth, has become a significant burden for the national and local governments responsible for their maintenance.

In response, Maeda, the representative of UrbanX Technologies, is advancing the efficiency of inspections by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI). By simply installing smartphones or dashcams in vehicles to film the roads, AI technology can automatically detect damages like potholes and cracks.

Currently, this technology has been adopted by 17 municipalities nationwide, including Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, and pilot tests are also underway overseas. Looking ahead, the aim is to expand the detection capabilities to include damage to road signs, utility poles, and power lines.

Novelist Jin Mayama delves into Maeda's vision for the future of infrastructure inspections.

Source: テレ東BIZ

Japan Introduces Stricter Penalties for Drunk Driving

Japan began applying a new numerical alcohol threshold for dangerous driving offenses on July 21, introducing a clearer standard for cases involving impaired driving that could lead to fatal accidents.

Japan Sets Investment Strategy

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government approved its first annual basic economic and fiscal policy on Tuesday, pledging "responsible and proactive fiscal policy" and envisioning about 370 trillion yen in public- and private-sector investment in strategic industries through fiscal 2040.

Mount Fuji Filmed From a Helicopter

Breathtaking 4K footage filmed from a helicopter offers a sweeping aerial view of Mount Fuji and its majestic surrounding landscape.

Japan Scrambles for Oil

A covert network of shuttle tankers is carrying crude through the increasingly dangerous Strait of Hormuz as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran disrupts shipping and raises concerns over how Japan will secure the oil it needs.

Russia Calls Japan-Ukraine Drone Cooperation a Clear Hostile Act

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has criticized moves by Japanese and Ukrainian companies to cooperate on drone technology, warning that such ties would be regarded by Moscow as a "clear hostile act."

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Web3 NEWS

AI Reshapes Japan’s Job Market

Japan’s major companies are showing growing caution toward hiring new graduates as artificial intelligence begins replacing routine work, while survey results suggest that older employees, nonregular workers and even managers could also face mounting pressure by 2030.

Tokyo AI Festival Draws 40,000

More than 40,000 engineers, business leaders and technology enthusiasts gathered at Makuhari Messe in June for AWS Summit Japan 2026, one of Japan’s largest artificial intelligence events, where new systems included an AI platform that has cut the time FC Tokyo staff spend selecting match photographs to roughly one-third of the previous level.