Google patents GPS system to help you avoid potholes

Google Maps could offer an alternative, smoother route

Google patents GPS system to help you avoid potholes

Google has patented a system that will let your sat nav warn you of bumpy roads using sensors fitted to other vehicles.

The GPS system will monitor vibrations inside cars to work out how bumpy a road is and pinpoint where potholes are.

This will then let you choose an alternative, smoother route avoiding the most potholed roads.

The data is also likely to be passed onto Google’s own self-driving cars to provide a more comfortable ride for their passengers.

The company already uses GPS data from phones running Google Maps to monitor traffic conditions and provide routes which avoid jams.

A similar system is already in the pipeline from Jaguar Land Rover. This uses sensors to profile the road’s surface and adjust the car’s dampers in preparation for hitting a pothole.

This information can also be shared between cars fitted with this system – and JLR is also working on using it to report deteriorating road surfaces with local councils.

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Motoring Research team
Motoring Research team
News, reviews, advice and features from the award-winning Motoring Resarch editorial team.

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