Fujitsu Launches Cloud-Based Roadway Patrol Support Service to Assist in Roadway Management

Tokyo, June 25, 2013

Fujitsu today announced the immediate availability in Japan of the FUJITSU Intelligent Society Solution Roadway Patrol Support Service, a new cloud-based service that employs smartphones⁽¹⁾ to assist in roadway inspection and patrol.

The new service, which is intended for local governments and other customers involved in road management, makes it possible to automatically collect information on roadway conditions using the built-in accelerometer of a smartphone placed in a moving vehicle. Combining this information with map data, users can easily perform a diagnosis of paving conditions on roads. Moreover, when an obstacle, road damage or other irregularity on a road is discovered while driving, operators can photograph the irregularity and log it into the system together with comments. This facilitates easy creation of reports.

Using the new service, customers can efficiently monitor road conditions and easily pinpoint areas that require maintenance. This helps to reduce operating costs for local governments and contributes to safe road maintenance.

In governments ranging from local municipalities to prefectures, properly maintaining roads, bridges and other public infrastructure not only enhances convenience for residents, but is also vital from the standpoint of disaster prevention in enabling residents to live in safety and with peace of mind. As funding for public works projects is limited, developing efficient and effective methods for maintaining public infrastructure is becoming ever more vital.

As of several years ago, Fujitsu has pursued efforts to develop systems that leverage ICT to inexpensively perform quantitative measurement of the deterioration of public infrastructure, without adding to the workload of roadside maintenance teams.

Since 2012, Fujitsu has partnered with associate professor Shigeyuki Murakami of Gifu University to demonstrate the commercial viability of services that support local governments in performing integrated maintenance work by enabling them to efficiently assess damage to bridges and roads.

As a result, Fujitsu has developed a commercial version of Roadway Patrol Support Service, a cloud-based service that utilizes smartphones. Through the new service, Fujitsu will help to make the process of roadway maintenance more efficient and contribute to the safe maintenance of public infrastructure.

Features of the New Service

1. Gathers information during routine patrols

Information is automatically collected during routine roadway patrols and whenever customer vehicles are in motion, so the service does not add to the workload of maintenance teams.

2. Employs smartphone technology

The service employs smartphones installed with an application, eliminating the need for specialized equipment.

3. Identifies areas requiring maintenance through data from driving

The technology uses all the collected data to examine the road and then pinpoint areas requiring maintenance through comparative analysis.

Service Overview

By simply having a smartphone equipped with the required application placed inside a vehicle before driving, the new service can collect information on roadway conditions using the smartphone's built-in accelerometer. This information is then combined with map data in the cloud, making it possible to assess the paving conditions of roads and then display areas requiring maintenance in an easy-to-understand map format. This service can also enhance the efficiency of creating work reports.

Through the combination of an everyday user-friendly device—a smartphone—and a safe and secure cloud service, Roadway Patrol Support Service improves the cost effectiveness and simplicity of roadway management.

Main Functions

1. Collection of information from assessed locations

Utilizes the smartphone's GPS function to automatically display the location of road irregularities as points on a map.

2. Estimation of roadway deterioration

Uses data from the smartphone's accelerometer to simply assess unevenness in the road surface and then display this information on a map.

3. Report creation

Reports can be simply created based on comments and photographs logged at recorded sites.

4. Comparative analysis of driving data

This feature allows users to compare two different estimations of roadway deterioration recorded at different times.

• The service uses maps provided by ZENRIN CO., LTD.

Results

The service can automatically collect and utilize data during everyday maintenance operations without workers having to do any extra work for it to function, so it can help to increase efficiency of inspection work while simultaneously increasing both the scope and frequency of inspections.

• Reduces the labor involved in on-site inspections
  Facilitates tasks such as recording inspection data, confirmation, comparative analysis, and report creation
• Improves the accuracy of maintenance area identification
  Enables users to screen entire roadway surfaces using massive sets of high-frequency data
• Continuous monitoring of roadway management status
  Enables timely quantitative assessment of roadway assets using data collected each day

Pricing and Availability

Pricing and Availability

Product	Pricing (excl. tax)	Availability
Roadway Patrol Support Service	From 100,000 yen per month	Immediately

• Separate smartphone equipment costs and communication fees required.
• This service is available only in Japan.