NHAI to use AI, ML for predictive maintenance, assessment of highways
According to its plan, this monitoring would cover 38,102 km national highways, including over 8,400 kilometres in Tamil Nadu and other southern states
Representative Image
CHENNAI: Taking the tech route to ensure that the thousands of kilometres of highways crisscrossing the country are safe and up to global standards, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has decided to use artificial intelligence and machine learning-based video surveillance that would track and alert deficiencies ranging from potholes to cracking, damaged signage to non-functional streetlights, and encroachments to unauthorised medians.
According to its plan, this monitoring would cover 38,102 km national highways, including over 8,400 kilometres in Tamil Nadu and other southern states. The NHAI will engage Dashcam Analytics Service (DAS) providers to implement this AI-based video surveillance.
The proposed Dashcam Video Analytics system aims to enhance remote tracking and monitoring of road conditions by capturing high-resolution imagery through dashcams mounted on route patrol vehicles. The collected video feeds will be processed using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to identify a wide range of anomalies and defects.
Officials said the initiative marks a shift towards predictive maintenance and continuous highway performance assessment, which is especially relevant for Tamil Nadu's high-density highway corridors.
According to the Request for Proposal (RFP) issued earlier this month, the system is designed to detect pavement-level defects, such as potholes, severe cracking, and rutting (the grooves that form on the road surface due to continuous vehicle movement). It will also identify issues with road furniture, including faded lane markings, damaged signage, missing boundary markers, broken crash barriers, and non-functional streetlights.
Besides the deficiencies, the AI model will also flag illegalities that could cause inconveniences and even result in injuries and fatalities, like encroachments, illegal parking, unauthorised median openings, and unapproved signboards.
The project covers five zones nationwide, with Tamil Nadu falling under the South Zone, which also includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Kerala. Weekly surveys will be carried out, including at least one night-time survey per month. The processed data will feed into NHAI’s dashboards and applications like the NHAI One App and Data Lake, offering dynamic updates and actionable insights.
Each survey will generate timestamped, geo-tagged data, with detailed logs of road segments and start-end coordinates. By integrating real-time AI insights with structured reporting, the initiative aims to support evidence-based decision-making and improve overall highway upkeep and safety, said officials.
